Tensions Run High
by Prisca512
Summary: Memories hit Gibbs hard after a case of murdered young girls and one member of his team is hit the hardest.
1. Chapter 1

Tension filled both sedans on the ride back to the Navy yard. David was the unlucky passenger to endure the silence with Gibbs. Occasional glances to the Senior Agent told her that words would not be welcome at this time. It was obvious what thoughts were running through his mind, the pain of haunted memories easily visible on his face. This case had been bad enough, 3 young girls taken from the park near their own homes where their families thought they would be safe. But the fourth, the 7year old daughter of a Marine Gunny taken from the playground near her home proved to be too much—a beautiful strawberry blond little girl with a wide smile that lit up blue eyes...they should have gotten to her in time. They should have been able to save this little girl from ending up like the other three girls. They had suspects and evidence. They had the best team at NCIS working this case. Minutes, it all came down to minutes. Minutes that were lost waiting on some damn computer.

Gibbs and David arrived at the Yard first, returning to the bullpen with nothing left but the bitter taste of failure. Ziva sat at her desk staring at nothing. Her calm exterior always in place, with perhaps a small crack of regret and despair showing through with the knowledge of the life taken away from one too young to have to know such horror.

Gibbs, on the other hand, could not sit still and didn't try. Everyone in the squad room knew that the bastard who was killed during the take down had gotten off easy. His partner would have to face Gibbs, a very angry Gibbs. Right now, every one was making sure to give Gibbs a wide berth as he paced while waiting for the rest of his team to get back to the Yard with the partner—the piece of filth that harmed and killed those little girls. The only thought running through his mind was the fact that they were too late because of some computer program. "_A God-damned computer program! How in the hell did they lose this girl because of a computer program? We knew the who and the how. All we needed to do was get the girl. But time had been wasted on the how to find them instead of pounding the pavement getting it done."_

The ding of the elevator could be heard and Gibbs snapped around to see DiNozzo and McGee step out alone. The suspect was already in the custody of the MP's in the the holding cells. As the two men made their way to their desks, Gibbs stepped in front of the younger of the two agents causing him to flinch dropping his gear and stop in mid-step. "Boss..."

"Shut-up, all I want to hear out of your mouth is how. How the hell did you screw up this case—were you so inept that you couldn't get it right?-get the results out of the computer any faster? Aren't you supposed to be the MIT computer genius? Why else do I have you on my team?"

The words bit deeply into Tim, looking down at the floor he replied, "Boss, I'm s-sorry..."

"I don't want to hear sorry, I want to hear how the hell you screwed this up and how a young girl ended up dead!"

Heads were turned in disbelief at the words being slung loudly at the young agent. Everyone knew Gibbs would be pissed off but this was even a bit far for the Senior Agent. Never had the attacks seemed so personal. Never had they heard him question the worth of one of his own agents.

Quickly looking up, Tim's green eyes searched for understanding in the ice-cold blue eyes that he was facing. "I was worked as fast as I could, Boss. I gave you everything as..." 

"EVERYTHING? You gave me everything too damn late."

"I did the best I could with what we had Boss. I'm sorry..." McGee didn't know what else to say, he didn't know what else to do but stand there and take the tirade from Gibbs. He'd been on the receiving end of Gibbs' anger before but never this severe. On a subconscious level, he was aware that everything in the room had stopped and all eyes were trained on Gibbs and himself but the only thing he could see was the udder disgust in his boss's eyes as they were focused on him. He swallowed hard and had to force himself not to look away or back up.

"If that's your best McGee, I don't need you on my team. If that was your best, it wasn't damn good enough. I'm not going to tolerate another one of your screw-ups. I need a field agent that can give me results, not some computer geek that can't get it right." The veins in Gibbs neck were stretched taut, his blue eyes were flaring with rage and his fists clenched in anger.

Above the bullpen, Director Vance gripped the railing as he listened to the Senior Agent rant. He watches as DiNozzo and David stared, pinned in place by disbelief. The rage that was expected to be directed at the one arrested for these heinous crimes was being directed at one of their own. DiNozzo flinched at the harsh words hurled at McGee. He was struck dumb with what to do, what to say. But self-preservation was running high and he stayed silent not wanting to incur the wrath of Gibbs.

"Boss, I..."

Gibbs was almost nose-to-nose with the younger agent as he yelled, "I don't want to hear another word out of your mouth, McGee. I don't want to see your sorry ass again. I don't want you anywhere near another one of my investigations. I want you out of here—NOW!" Visibly shaking, Gibbs turned on a heel and made his way to his desk.

Tim stood stock still not knowing what to do or to whom to turn. His eyes reflected the disbelief at the words said to him by the man he looked up to, the man he considered a mentor. _Had he just been fired? Had he been told he really was nothing to the Senior Agent? _He was so lost in thought he didn't hear Gibbs turn from his desk and stride back to his side. Picking up McGee's gear Gibbs slammed it into the younger man's chest knocking him back into DiNozzo's desk.

"YOU WERE TOLD TO GET YOUR SORRY ASS OUT OF HERE—DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"

The squad room was stunned into silence. The room held it's collective breath not knowing what to expect next. Vance remained in place above the bullpen waiting with the rest of the room to see how this would play. He was curious as to how the young agent would respond to what was said to him. Recollections of words so similar from so long ago sounded in his mind, stuck on replay.

Regaining his balance, Tim stood and first looked at Tony and then Ziva before returning his eyes to Gibbs. Without a word, Tim walked towards the elevator but changed his mind and went to the stairwell. Once the door closed behind him, Tim stopped and drew a shaky breath not know what to do. He couldn't go back in the squad room. He found himself on autopilot—walking down the stairs and then outside to his car. He didn't even notice that it had started to rain. He stopped beside his car, numb to everything. His mind was reeling, still trying to make sense of everything that had just happened. Had he really heard Gibbs say he didn't need him on his team?

The rain changed to a downpour soaking to the core the one man it found standing all alone already drowning in his thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Heads turned in confusion as the click of the stairwell door was heard throughout the quiet room. Questions and anger could be seen in the eyes of those who witnessed what they couldn't believe. Questions directed at Tony and Ziva, even the Director himself. Anger clearly pointed at Gibbs.

Tony tore his stunned gaze from Ziva to look at Gibbs. But all he could see was the back of Gibbs head as the elevator doors closed behind him and shunted him away from the room. Tony looked at McGee's desk in hopes that his Probie was sitting quietly behind his computer tapping away at his keyboard. No such luck. Turning back to Ziva, "What the hell just happened here, Zee? Did the Boss just kick McGee out?"

"I do not know Tony. Gibbs was clearly agitated and upset in the car on the way back to the Yard. But that was to be expected. We all knew what kind of memories and emotions this was bringing up for him. We knew that this was not going to be pleasant no matter how it ended when we knew the last girl reminded Gibbs of his own daughter."

"But did he say anything? I mean, God, where did that come from? Sure it seemed to take a little extra time for McGoo to get the location details and coordinates, but hell, how many queries and applications did the guy have running at once to get all that information? We couldn't have gotten there any faster...could we?" Tony turned towards the window overlooking the grounds. The rain was coming down harder, beating against the windows. Running his hand through his hair, Tony absently looked outside.

"He's just standing in the rain."

Ziva turned to Tony from her desk, her brow creasing. "What did you say?" Ziva started walking towards the window.

"He's just standing in the rain. Next to his car. He's soaked, just standing there."

Ziva found what Tony was seeing, the crease deepening along her brow. Tim McGee standing in the pouring rain looking completely lost and dejected. "He must be in shock. He does not know what to do. We must get him out of the rain, Tony." Ziva left Tony's side as she headed towards the stairs.

Tony caught up to Ziva as they hit the exit doors. The rain was still coming down hard making it difficult to see without protection. They ran off in the direction where Tim was parked. Instead of finding Tim at his car, all they found was his gear lying on the asphalt. Ziva was the quicker of the two and spotted McGee's Porsche as it turned out of the Yard and headed towards I295.

NCIS~~

Gibbs headed straight for autopsy in search of Dr. Mallard. He needed to know...

"Duck, what have you got on the Gunny's daughter?" Gibbs couldn't look his friend in the eye and he couldn't bring himself to look at any of the autopsy tables. Tables with the bodies of four military daughters, all too young to be in Ducky's presence.

"Jethro, you know I haven't had a chance to take care of our young charge yet! It is not often that I must perform my duties on ones so young as these and I must say, that I am glad for that fact." Ducky turned to look at Jethro and could sense there was more to what was being asked. "Jethro, just what are you hoping to find out about the Gunnery Sergeant's young daughter?"

Gibbs stood, now seeing only the body bag on the table showing no emotion, no reaction. Minutes, it all seemed to come down to minutes. Minutes that could have saved her life. Minutes that could have been saved by a faster search for the location.

"Duck, I need to know when she died. I need to know if we..." He had convinced himself it was only minutes. He needed something to blame. He didn't like losing and he didn't want to be reminded of what he'd lost and damn it, this girl was like a knife in his gut reminding him. He had needed to be able to blame something for Kelly's death—himself for not being with his family as well as those that called for their murders. Now, he needed something to blame for this death as well. The dirtbag in a holding cell, yes, but what else? Minutes. How many minutes?

"Jethro, if you are wanting..."

"DUCK—I NEED TO KNOW, COULD WE HAVE SAVED HER?" Turning away from his friend, Gibbs closed his eyes trying to get the memory of this little girl out of his head. Too close to Kelly.

"Jethro, you can't project saving this young girl onto your desire to have saved Kelly. This poor young thing..." Dr. Mallard was startled to find Special Agent Gibbs standing right in front of him cutting him off in mid-sentence.

"This has nothing to do with my family, Doctor. This has everything to do with finishing this case and how my team responded to this case." speaking so quietly but the frigid tone and tension was clearly heard by Dr Mallard. Hesitating to shape his response, Ducky turned to reply only to find himself watching Gibbs figure retreat out of his autopsy ward with the words hanging thickly in the air..."I need to know Dr Mallard."

NCIS ~~

Ziva and Tony were drenched when they returned to the bullpen with McGee's pack. Gibbs found them both dripping at Tony's desk. "What the hell happened to the two of you? I don't have time for you two to go dancing in the rain, you've got a man in custody to interrogate and reports to write up, today." Gibbs didn't even stop as he rounded his desk and sat to look through the case file lying open on his desk.

"Boss, um...McGee..." Tony hesitantly looked from Ziva to Gibbs hoping to get some answers about what happened

"I don't want to talk about it DiNozzo. I don't want to hear the name again, got it?" Without even looking at either agent, Special Agent Gibbs got up from his desk coffee cup in hand and started walking away. He didn't want to think about anything other than making sure they had an air tight case against the dirt bag sitting in a holding cell.

"Gibbs!" Ziva took a few steps after the man hoping she could make him stop. "Gibbs, we must speak to you about McGee." She got the desired effect, a little more abruptly than anticipated as she almost walked right into the back of Gibbs. Tony came up from behind to flank her on her right side as Gibbs turned to face his two agents. They weren't surprised by the look on his face but it was too late now.

A few seconds staring into cold blue eyes seemed like an eternity. The warmth those eyes had given so many times was gone, replaced by something unreadable, something that sparked anger.

"What is it you think we need to talk about? Uh? Tell me, you want to talk about how we let that scumbag get away with killing another little girl? Or do you want to talk about how there was nothing else we could have done? All I want to hear is how we're going to get a clear confession out of him with full implication of his partner also. I want a case so tight that JAG won't have any trouble getting the maximum on this guy."

"Gibbs, I do not believe that there was anything else we could have done. We did our best and it ended with misfortune. But that was no reason to blame Mc..." Ziva was surprised when Gibbs took a step into her personal space making her back up to look at him.

Tilting his head he spoke quietly, leaning towards Ziva while speaking, "So now you believe you can tell me what we could or could not have done, who I can and cannot blame. Is that right, Agent David? Your training is so complete that you can run this team?"

"Boss, we're not doubting, we just need to know about McGee. He'll be back. Right? He'll be back and we'll all move past this case. It was a brutal case, we get it Gibbs, too close to home but we'll all get past it. Right, Boss? McGee—he was just standing in the rain outside like he was lost. But Boss, he'll be back, right?" DiNozzo was rambling but needed the reassurance from the man he looked up to that all would be right with the world. That tomorrow the sun would shine and his McGeek would be dry, sitting at his desk doing, well, geek things.

"Gibbs, my office, NOW!" Gibbs glanced up to see the Director looking over the squad room from his vantage point above them. Vance made it known by the tone of his voice that this was not a request.

"DiNozzo, David—start your interrogation of the suspect... Go dry off first, you're leaving puddles everywhere." Vance turned towards his office without verifying the three agents would do as he ordered.

Gibbs was inside Vance's office within seconds slamming the door behind him.

"You wanted to see me, Director?" Locking eyes with Vance, Gibbs stared and silently returned the challenge in his Director's demeanor.

Minutes. Not a word was said for minutes as the tension rolled off each man that seemed to move in sync with the lightening that danced outside the window.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N~~thank-you to everyone who has been following this story. I appreciate all of the feedback :-)

Disclaimer—the usual, I own nothing but my imagination and even that's not worth much.

Chapter 3

Tim drove without seeing. An hour later he found himself at Waverly College. Looking for a parking spot near Sarah's dorm, he suddenly felt desperate to see his sister. Just to know she was safe, just to see her smile, just a few minutes of her time. The rain had not let up and he was drenched to the skin as he entered the dormitory on his way to Sarah's room. Tentatively, Tim reached up to knock on Sarah's door wondering if she was even there. "Tim! What are you doing here in the middle of the day? My God, you're soaked! What happened to you?"

Sarah opened the door to her dorm room and ushered her big brother in grabbing a bath towel as she passed the sink. Tim turned to his sister with no other purpose than just to see that she was OK. He drank in the sight of her and allowed himself a small smile. At least one thing seemed to go OK—his baby sister seemed to be fine. Sarah knew something was up, Tim never showed up unannounced in the middle of the day when he should be at the Navy Yard. He was too conscientious to just leave work to drop by to say hi. Sarah took a step towards him and started to towel his hair dry. "Tim, what's wrong? You wouldn't be here if there wasn't something wrong."

"Just having a bad day. Is it so wrong to want to see my little sister to get a smile and maybe a hug? OK, maybe not the hug since I would get you all wet, but I could use one of your smiles right about now. I had to work hard to find a parking space near your building!" He got a small smile out of his baby sister and allowed her to take care of him; drying his hair and removing his wet sports coat with a grimace on her face as she realized just how wet it was and that his shirt underneath was soaked as well.

"What did you do, just stand still in the rain for a half hour? Tim, you are so wet it looks like you stood in the shower in your clothes. Doesn't your gun get wet like that? I don't think I have any of your sweats that I borrowed for you to change into. Do you still carry a change of clothes with you?"

Smiling at her barrage of questions, he answered, "I got caught in the rain for a while. Don't worry about it, I'm going to go home to change. I just wanted to stop and see you, make sure you were OK. Is everything going OK? Do you need anything?" Tim found himself taking a look around his sister's dorm room checking to see that everything looked to be in place, no signs of problems. _Habit_ he thought to himself,_ she can take care of herself._

"I'm fine Tim. You asked me that last night when we talked. I am due at the library for a study group, but just let me text Carrie to let her know I won't be there..."

"No, you go. I didn't mean to interrupt your day. I really just wanted to see your smile. I need to go and change anyway." Tim picked up his wet coat and started for the door. Sarah reached for him as he started to open the door and turned her brother to face her. Holding his hand she tilted her head as she looked into his eyes.

"I know you Tim McGee. Something is wrong. You're just not ready to talk about it. But I'll be here when you are. You've always been quick to be there for me, let me be here for you." She squeezed his hand as she kissed his cheek. She thought she heard him say "_Just not quick enough_." "What did you say?" "I just said I love you Sar." Tim kissed her forehead and quietly closed her door.

It was three o'clock in the afternoon when Tim opened the door of his car to climb his way to his apartment. He grabbed his sport coat from the passenger seat to use as an umbrella of sorts against the continuing rain. He didn't notice when his cell phone fell out of the pocket and slipped under the seat of the car. It felt weird, really weird to be home in the middle of the afternoon when it wasn't a scheduled day off. He had no motivation to do anything more than to get out of his wet clothes and sit to watch the rain run down his windows.

NCIS~~

Vance was the first to end the contest of silent stares. Removing his ever present toothpick, Vance tersely spat, "Care to explain to me just what the hell happened to have you dressing down one of your team members in public?" Vance's eyes clearly showed his anger at what he had witnessed. He never expected to witness a scene like that with Gibbs as the instigator.

"A girl died because a member of my team screwed up—I have the right to kick his ass." Gibbs didn't move a muscle, his eyes remained locked on his Director as if in challenge to what he had said.

Stepping into Gibbs personal space Vance replied, "How do you figure the death of that girl is McGee's fault? You're the team leader, if there is blame to lay, why isn't it your fault?"

"I take responsibility for my team and their actions. That's why I laid into him—I'm not going to accept shoddy work from agents." Gibbs wasn't going to give an inch.

"Your agent? Sounded to me like you kicked McGee off your team. You saying he is still your agent to kick around when things get too tough for you?" Vance wasn't going to give an inch either.

"I FIRED HIS ASS..."

"YOU CAN'T FIRE HIM WITHOUT GOING THROUGH ME FIRST. And nothing that was done on this case warrants the termination of Agent McGee. Now you on the other hand..."

"What about me? You think I handled this case and my team poorly Leon?" If it was possible, ice blue eyes turned even colder.

"This was too close to home for you Jethro—you let your emotions cloud the logic in how this should have been handled. I let you finish it because you've always been able to separate the job and your personal issues before. I should have pulled you off when we got wind of the fourth girl. You ran your team into the ground. You didn't let up. They gave you everything they had and you still pushed. Just how much more did you expect Gibbs? We knew this was going to end badly, no matter how quickly we ended it."

Gibbs couldn't believe what he heard coming out of Vance. "What more did I expect? I expected to get to that little girl in time to save her, to bring her home. I expected my agents to give everything they had and then give more until I say it's enough. That's the way my team runs and if someone can't meet my expectations, they don't belong on my team, I don't need them."

"I've turned a blind eye to how you run your team for a long time, Gibbs. You need to realize just what you've done and how it's affected not only your team. I've already been getting calls on this situation." Vance stepped back to lean against his desk giving Gibbs a moment to chew on what he'd just said. "Do you really believe McGee's skills aren't good enough, that you don't need him on your team? If so, I've already heard from two other teams that want McGee if you really cut him loose. I've even had a call from the FBI Director that casually threw out that if we make any personnel changes over here to let him know. You know the Cyber Crimes team wants McGee back in their lair. Now just how do you think so much interest has been generated in such a short time as to what is going to be done with Agent McGee? Your little tirade made it's way all the way to the FBI, Jethro, in what, 20minutes? Now how the hell am I supposed to contain this one? I've got a hell of a lot of damage control to handle because of the little show you put on in the squad room."

"So... what's my fate, Leon? I'm sure you've come up with something."

"Unofficially, you're on suspension for a week. I'll remove all notes of the incident at the end of the week provided I'm satisfied. Officially, you're spending a week at FLETC as an instructor. They've been asking for a Senior Field Agent as a guest lecturer. Think of yourself as a substitute teacher. You can terrorize the trainees instead of my agency." Vance was smirking at the look of disbelief on Gibbs face.

"WHAT!" Gibbs started to pace the room. "You know I'm not what they had in mind when they asked for a guest lecturer. You'll be penalizing those trainees." Gibbs tried to reason.

"I can arrange for an official suspension with mandatory anger management classes and psychological evaluation. You take your pick." Vance watched as Gibbs stopped and rolled his neck trying to relieve the tension that was evident. Without a word, he made his way to the door but was stopped with Vance's comment, "Monday, 0630. Report to Commander Henry for your class assignment."

NCIS~~

"Dr. Mallard is it true?" Jimmy Palmer rushed into autopsy only minutes after Gibbs had left. Ducky had been so preoccupied with his conversation with Jethro he didn't notice Jimmy walking through the automated doors.

"Mr. Palmer, calm down. Now, is what true?" Ducky turned to Palmer and found the look of utter confusion on his young assistants face.

"Agent Gibbs, did he really kick Agent McGee out of the office?"

"My dear boy, what on earth are you talking about?"

Jimmy's face was full of concern as he tried to explain. "I just heard it from one of the mail clerks. He was in the squad room when Agent Gibbs' team returned and apparently Gibbs went postal on Agent McGee...oh, excuse the pun, Doctor."

Confused, Ducky removed his glasses and absently started to clean them. Pacing, Ducky said thoughtfully, "What on earth would cause Jethro to go off like that on Timothy? And in front of the entire squad room with other personnel to witness this as well? Apparently there is more to this case than I was made aware."

"All I know is the Brian the mail clerk said he heard Agent Gibbs ask Agent McGee how he could screw up the case and get that girl killed and that he didn't want to see Agent McGee again." Jimmy had been talking so fast that he was breathing hard.

"Oh dear, do you know where Timothy is now, Mr. Palmer?"

Jimmy was following Dr. Mallard as the older gentleman paced the room. "Brian said that Agent Gibbs shoved Agent McGee and then McGee just left without saying a word. That pretty well sums up everything he had to tell me about what happened."

"Poor Timothy, he must be feeling quiet confused right about now. I'd say it's a good thing that Abigail is not here. She would only make the matter worse for Timothy."

Frowning with confusion, Jimmy asked, "Why do you say that Doctor? Abby and McGee are good friends. Wouldn't it be helpful for Abby to be here for her friend?"

"Well, Mr. Palmer, in Abigail's world, Jethro is always right. Her loyalty to him is unparalleled. If Jethro thinks Timothy did something to comprise this case then Abigail would most likely follow suit. And as she is also Timothy's friend, her loyalty to Jethro and the conviction she would have of his belief would cause hurt and confusion on Timothy's part. I really must find Anthony. If you will excuse me Mr. Palmer. Please see that our young guests are not disturbed until I return." Ducky exited autopsy with the intent on finding some answers.

NCIS~~

Ducky was disappointed to find that Tony and Ziva were occupied interrogating the suspect and that he would have to wait for answers. Making his way to the elevators he was surprised to see Jethro descending the stairs with Director Vance observing from above. Hesitantly, he started towards Gibbs but was summoned by the Director. "Dr. Mallard, would you join me in my office please?" Instead of making his way towards Jethro, Ducky changed course and headed upstairs as requested.

"Dr. Mallard, I'm taking McGee out of rotation for the rest of the week. Officially it will be noted as medical leave. I need you to sign off on the paperwork." The Director's assistant had just dropped off a small stack of paperwork and was exiting the office, closing the door as she left.

"And unofficially, Director?"

"Unofficially, I need to give the man a few days to get his head past what was thrown at him by Gibbs. I'm assuming you have heard about what has happened today." Director Vance sat behind his desk and started to sort through the stack of paperwork just delivered to him.

Ducky sat across from the director's desk feeling he had absolutely no grasp of what was going on. "Do you think that a few days will be sufficient for Jethro and Timothy to be able to work together as if nothing has happened? I don't have all the details of what has happened. I've only just been told of some of the scuttlebutt that appears to be spreading rampant around the Yard."

Nodding his understanding, Vance continued, "When McGee returns on Monday, I'll give him a temporary assignment. I'm still working on the details. Gibbs will officially be at FLETC as a guest lecturer."

"If I may Director, Jethro's unofficial status?" Ducky silently wondered just how far this situation had gone.

"Unofficially, it's a week's suspension. I'll remove all notations of today's incident upon his return provided I feel satisfied with the week. This case was hard for him, I realize that but it does not give him license to go after one of his own agents. That's not like him and he needs to figure that out. I can't believe he was the only one affected by this case tying to events of their past."

"Forgive me Director, but you lost me there. In what way did this case relate to anyone else? I seem to be missing several key pieces of this case." Ducky shook his head, this was getting more complicated than anyone was aware of.

"Dr. Mallard, how well do you know Agent McGee?"

"Timothy is a very private person as I'm sure you are well aware. I like to think of myself as a good personal friend but I do realize that there are many facets to our young Timothy that I do not know. I don't wish to pry but try to make it known to him that I am available when he needs a friendly ear. May I ask why the question?"

As Assistant Director of NCIS, I spent a lot of time reviewing cases that went all the way back to when the Agency was known as NIS. I needed to know what we had done, how investigations had changed. I found a case from about 14years ago. A Naval Commander's daughter had been taken from her backyard. It turned out that two college aged sons of one of the Commander's Junior officers took her in order to try to force the Commander's teenage son to erase a reprimand in their father's file that was blocking a possible promotion. Apparently the Commander's son was a computer prodigy and they'd heard on the Navy Base that the kid had already hacked into the Navy's system before—they wanted him to do it again. The Commander's wife was contacted by the kidnappers telling her to notify no one of the abduction and her daughter would be unharmed if her son did as they instructed. The wife didn't contact any authorities and no one would have known if the Commander hadn't come home early that day from a trip to Annapolis. He found his wife in hysterics. The Commander called NIS for help, when they arrived they noted that the wife was heard berating her son to work faster. She had convinced the boy that his sister would die if he didn't do as he was told. NIS stopped the boy before he completed his way into the Navy computers and when the kidnappers called again it wasn't hard to convince them to let the girl go, that their scheme wasn't going to work. The lead agents final notes in that case included his amazement of the boys skills and his astonishment of the wife's continuing belittlement of her son, that his sister almost died because he wasn't good enough or fast enough."

"Oh, my. And how did you make the connection to our Timothy, Director?"

"When I came to DC as Director, I thoroughly reviewed everyone's personnel files. The vague notations in McGee's file referring to his sister's kidnapping had me digging up that old case file. I'm not a psychologist but think I know McGee well enough to see that once he has time to review everything Gibbs said to him today, it's going to bring up those same words that were said when he was a boy. And he's going to need some time to wrap his head around everything."

NCIS~~

Gibbs was in interrogation with DiNozzo and David when a violent clap of thunder combined with the soft ding of his computer indicating that he had a new email message.

A/N #2—a little creative license, I'm assuming McGee is 30 and his sister Sarah is 21.

Thanks! :-)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Tim rolled over in his bed and stared at his bedside clock. 3:30am stared back at him in bold blue numbers. _Fifteen minutes, it's only been fifteen minutes since the last time I looked at the damn clock? Forget it, I'm not getting any sleep now. _Tim's mind had been going non-stop since he'd gotten home after seeing Sarah, but had shifted to over-drive when he tried to fall asleep. All he could think about was Gibbs yelling in his face, saying he didn't need Tim on his team. That whole scene was on rewind in his mind, over and over. In the last four hours he'd gotten 30 minutes of sleep but he's not even sure he would call it sleep. He awoke remembering the tone of her words..._"Your sister could have died because of you. What if they had hurt Sarah when they found out your father called in the Agency? If you'd just worked faster they wouldn't have even needed to know. Do you realize she could have died in a matter of minutes? Oh my God, I can't look at you right now, just go to your room..." _He hadn't dreamt of that in years. After that, sleep was out of reach. His bed was more a wrestling mat the way he had rolled and tossed. Giving up, Tim went to shower. If nothing else, he thought, I can go into the office and clean out my desk before Gibbs gets there. 5AM found Tim pulling into the Navy Yard.

Having found an empty bankers box, Tim was almost done going through his desk when the elevator softly dinged. Nervously looking in that direction, he silently hoped Gibbs would not be walking out of the elevator. To his surprise, Director Vance walked towards the bullpen with two cups of coffee.

"Morning McGee. I thought I might find you here early this morning. I tried calling you yesterday, you're not avoiding phone calls are you, McGee?" The Director set one cup of coffee directly in front of Tim while enjoying a sip of his own cup.

"Good morning, Sir. No, I'm not trying to avoid calls, I just...I seem to have lost my phone yesterday after I left here." A bit embarrassed Tim returned to sorting through his desk, not knowing what else to say.

"Drink your coffee, McGee. Once you finish with your desk, bring your box to my office where we can talk in private." Giving the younger agent a nod, Director Vance took the stairs two at a time heading towards his office.

Ten minutes later, Special Agent Tim McGee was standing outside the office of NCIS Director Leon Vance. The personal effects of his desk boxed up and in his arms, not a trace of him left on the desk downstairs. With trepidation he reached out to knock on the Director's door, sure that this was the last time he would be in this office. Tim heard a muffled "come in" and opened the door walking into the office hoping his fear wasn't completely obvious.

"I have my desk cleared out, Sir. I'll have the MP at the security desk review the contents of the box on my way out, unless you need to check first, of course. The computer hard drive is clean of anything that was personal. Passwords to current files are on a notebook in the top desk drawer. My reports for the kidnapping case are completed. The file extensions are listed on the same notebook as the passwords. I can come back in to sign any necessary forms for Human Resources when they are ready." Tim couldn't make eye contact with the Director, instead trying to look casual as he saw the beginnings of the sunrise trying to peek through the clouds in the distance outside the Director's window.

"McGee, just what do you think happened yesterday?" Vance had been watching the young man carefully. What he saw was a young man that was sure his world was coming to an end.

"Well, Sir, unfortunately we didn't reach the Gunnery Sergeant's daughter in time to save her although we did capture the men responsible. Gibbs was unhappy with the outcome of our investigation and as a result of my actions he felt it necessary to fire me. I left the premises and didn't return. Thinking about that, I'm sure I should have stayed here and met with HR at the time. I'm sorry …."

"Agent McGee, Gibbs didn't fire you. Gibbs can't fire you, only I can do that. Your actions during that investigation do not warrant any adverse actions to be taken against you. You did your job. You did it well. Tim, sit down. I made the mistake of not pulling Gibbs off that investigation, we all know that little girl reminded him of his own daughter. I gave him the benefit of the doubt that he would stay objective. For the most part he did. I can only assume he needed something to blame for the death of that little girl—something that he could reach out and hurt. You ended up being that something. He can't touch the man he arrested, as much as he wants to, he knows that." Vance leaned forward with his elbows on this desk, hands fisted together in front of his chin giving Tim a chance to think about what he'd said. He could see the young agent analyzing everything in his mind.

"But Gibbs still wants me off his team, Director."

"What makes you think that McGee? Gibbs said a lot of things, things I'm sure he wishes he hadn't said."

"Sir, the truth is often spoken during the moments of a stressful situation. Gibbs may later admit that I didn't screw up but I believe that he meant what he said about not wanting me on his team. He doesn't want me here." Tim held Vance's gaze as they both tried to come to terms with what could possibly be the truth.

"McGee, I'm giving you the rest of the week off. I've had Dr. Mallard sign off on medical leave for you so as not to tie up your vacation time. Your team was scheduled to be on down time this weekend so you'll have four free days. Take this time to relax, leave the job and what's happened behind—temporarily."

"Sir, I don't see how this will change anything. I still won't have a team to go to on Monday when I come back in the office." Tim was tense and it was getting difficult to sit still.

"I've had two other teams that have already stepped up and want you to join them. I thought you could try them on for size, see what it would be like with another team. Each team has it's own dynamic, each team lead is different." Vance was hoping the offer of a time off and a change of teams would help diffuse some of the anxiety he was sure the young man was experiencing.

"What about Gibbs. How will he react to my still being here even if it is with another team? He's still going to blame me and that will just be baggage being carried over to a new team. I don't see how that's going to help the situation."

"Gibbs is assigned to FLETC next week. You'll have the chance to work with one or both teams with no interference from Gibbs. DiNozzo and David will be working cold cases—they should have everything tied up on this current case by Friday." Deciding to take a chance, Vance figured now was as good as time as any to tap into the sensitive topic. "You can't carry the blame when there is no blame to carry.. There are lots of reasons why people lay blame on the innocent. Tim, do you need to talk to someone about this whole situation? An objective third party maybe? "

"I'm not sure what you mean Director. Are you recommending psychological counseling?"

Fearing the young man was jumping to the wrong conclusions he quickly spoke up, "This case, what Gibbs said to you, it's not dredging up stuff that you need may need to deal with? There's no shame in that if there is."

"Director, what are you..."

"Tim—over the years I've read more case files than I can count. There's a lot of history in those files. Sometimes I can put two and two together and piece together a puzzle. There was a puzzle in your personnel file when I reviewed it after taking over this office."

"So you know about what happened to my sister?" Tim could barely hold his surprise from his voice.

"Yes, and the lead agent on that case made some final notations about what he saw and heard at the time. If what I read was accurate, I'd say that Gibbs' words hit a little too close for comfort for you. He's wrong you know. An so was your mother if I may say so."

Shocked, Tim didn't know what to say. He'd left home that fall after Sarah's abduction. At the time, his father thought it might help his relationship with his mother—their oldest child going off to college. His mother just saw it as another way of Tim not taking care of his sister. No one spoke of the incident anymore. He wasn't even sure Sarah remembered that it happened. "If you don't mind, I'm going to think about that for a while, Director. I appreciate the concern. I'm just not sure what to think right now." Tim stood to leave, not sure what just happened. It certainly wasn't what he had anticipated.

"Understandable. That's another reason I think you need the time off. Come back in on Monday, we'll figure it out from there. Leave your desk things here. I'll store them in my closet for you." Vance came around from behind his desk walking with Tim. Opening the door he said, "Take your time to think everything out McGee. You've got a lot to think about—including the fact that you've got a place in this agency, I'm not going to let go of one of my best agents."

"And I only want the best agents on my team! Director Vance, I was hoping to catch you early this morning. I wanted to discuss McGee. Good to see you again, Tim." Smiling, Senior Agent Jeff Blanchard extended his hand to Tim. "I had told Director Vance yesterday that my team and I want you with us. Your skills and field experience would round out our team. You know I'm competitive. I want to be the best. So far Gibbs has had the best team. I think we could change that. I'm hoping that you'll give us a try."

Stunned, Tim looked to Vance for verification of what he'd just heard. A simple nod from the Director was all he got, but it was enough. "Thanks Jeff, I'll let you know. Director, thank-you." Tim walked out of the Director's office with certainly a lot to think about.

NCIS~~

The morning was cloudy and gloomy and Tony was not looking forward to finishing reports. Closing a case was always great but all the paperwork that came with it was not his strong suit. Along with the fact that he kept watching the elevator for McGee, he wasn't getting much work done. Looking for anything to use as a distraction, he settled on Ziva. "Ziva—as senior special agent I declare today that all paperwork to be completed by you." Smirking, Tony waited for her response but was hit with a Gibbs head slap instead.

"DiNozzo, get to work. You finish your own reports." Gibbs was in no mood for Tony's horseplay today.

"On it Boss. Uh, Boss...where's McGee? McTardy is late and he's got his own reports to finish on this case." Tony wasn't sure how Gibbs was going to react after the whole scene yesterday.

"Wouldn't know DiNozzo. Told him not to come back. I guess he finally took an order." The last thing he wanted to discuss was McGee. Still seeing red over the outcome of the kidnapping case he had not yet let go of any anger he held towards the young agent.

Standing next to Tim's desk, Ziva asked, "Tony, did you hide all of McGee's personal items from his desk?"

"No, Zee-vah, I did not hide McGee's personal items. Why do you think I would do such a thing? Although that would be a good one." Tony rose from his desk to stand next to Ziva inspecting McGee's desk.

"It is very clean, almost as though no one works at this desk." Ziva moved around to sit in the chair and was about to begin opening desk drawers.

"No need for any of you to concern yourselves with Agent McGee. I want all reports and results submitted no later than 3pm tomorrow afternoon on this kidnapping case. You can find McGee's reports filed in the data base. Gibbs, Commander Henry at Cheltenham will expect a call from you today. He's placing you with the Tactical Training Unit instructor group. He wants you to be up to speed with where they plan to be in course training for next week. And I expect a glowing report from Commander Henry and his instructors that you make considerable contributions to the training." Vance stood in front of Gibbs' desk for a moment making sure his point was taken. Satisfied, he left the bullpen with a smirk on this face.

"Cheltenham? Boss, what's the Director doing sending you to the FLETC Maryland facility? You're not due for recertification." Tony had taken the spot in front of Gibbs' desk that Vance had just vacated. "If you're going to be at FLETC, then what are we going to be doing?"

"Don't know, DiNozzo. Not my idea." Gibbs grabbed his coffee cup deciding now would be a good time for a refill. Rounding his desk, Tony reached for Gibbs arm stopping him before he walked away.

"Boss...what's going on? Where's McGee? Are we being split up again because of what happened yesterday? 'Cause I gotta say, I don't like it Boss." Tony released Gibbs' arm and ran his hand through his hair. "Gibbs, I know you were upset yesterday but we've got to make this right. What was said yesterday was in the heat of the moment...right?"

"Gibbs, have you heard from McGee since yesterday? Perhaps he sent you an email. Do you know what the Director was referring to when he said we did not need to concern ourselves with McGee?" Ziva was standing next to Tony effectively blocking Gibbs path.

"Don't hardly read email, you know that Ziva. Don't have a clue as to what's going on with McGee, either." Having said that much, Gibbs turned around to go the long way out of the bullpen in search of his coffee.

It started to rain again as Ziva and Tony were left standing in the middle of the bullpen in utter confusion.

NCIS~~

Pictures of Tim McGee lay in the front passenger seat of the grey sedan that was following a beautiful Porsche Boxster Convertible. Several car lengths behind, the driver was confident the agent was unaware of being followed.

"We're going to see how well you've trained your youngest man, Gunny."

All around, headlights were being snapped on and windshield wipers came to life as the sky grew darker and the clouds opened up releasing the rain.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N thank-you to everyone reading and reviewing this story. I hope you are enjoying this little adventure. I appreciate all the feedback :-)

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination...

Chapter 5

With coffee in hand,Gibbs walked quickly through the automated doors of autopsy with a scowl on his face and blue eyes burning. One quick glance was all that was needed before Jimmy Palmer quickly spoke up, "Dr., I'll run these samples to the tech filling in for Abby unless you need something else right now?" Jimmy was halfway to the doors when Dr. Mallard responded, "Thank-you Mr. Palmer, that would be very good of you."

"Jethro, to what do I owe your presence this morning? You wouldn't happen to be hiding from your team's questions now would you?" Ducky gave Gibbs a sideways glance before turning his attention back to the guest on his autopsy table.

"And just how do you hear so much down here in autopsy, Duck?" Gibbs stood at the end of the occupied table waiting for his friend to finish with the particular incision he was making into some unrecognizable internal organ.

"You would be amazed at how much we hear in the lower levels of this building, Jethro. Rumor has it Anthony is afraid the team will be split up, that you are being loaned out to the Maryland FLETC training center, and that the FBI may want to recruit Timothy away from NCIS. These are only a few of the tidbits we've heard today and how much of this is actually true, I cannot possibly know. But I do know that if you do not set things straight with Timothy, you may very well lose some of the respect that your peers have for you, Jethro." Ducky had stopped all ministrations to his patient to look Gibbs in the eye as he delivered his criticism.

Gibbs returned Ducky's stare and asked, "Does that include you too, Duck?"

"Sadly, I must say that I'm afraid it may, Jethro. I can't honestly believe you think Timothy made an error that cost that young girl her life or that you believe his is no longer an asset to your team. But if you continue with this course of ambivalence towards young Timothy, I'm afraid that you may feel the bitterness of your own words come back to haunt you."

"Damn it Duck, he may not be directly to blame for that little girl but what the hell took so long with all that computer crap he does? He runs these types of searches every day, he's always on top of it getting the answers. What was so different about this case that slowed him down...I needed that information faster. I can't have an agent that wastes time on an important case." Gibbs had walked away from his friend while in his mind searching for answers. Turning back to Ducky, Gibbs asked again, "What the hell was so different this time? Explain it to me because I can't come up with the answer."

"Jethro, we all have things in our past that effect us emotionally. The loss of your daughter brought an emotional response to this case for you. Don't you think that it's possible that members of your team have also had these kind of emotional responses to cases? Why would this be any different?" Ducky tone was softer in an attempt to help his friend look past his anger.

"I hate it when you talk in riddles, Duck. Spit it out, will ya?" A tinge of anger was heard in Gibbs' voice but Ducky knew it was directed at the situation and not at himself.

"I don't believe I'm at liberty to divulge details that were given to me in confidence. Suffice it to say that we don't know everything that our young Timothy has gone through in his life. I believe you would be surprised at what could be found in his background. We all know that the young man was harassed incessantly; I think it just may be surprising to find out by whom. The old saying, 'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me' I believe is a terrible fallacy. And when the hurtful words repeat themselves, well, the effects can sometimes be irreparable."

NCIS~~

A day of seemingly endless paperwork made for two rather irritated federal agents. Tony had lost count of how many times Gibbs told him to get back to work when he was found daydreaming. Ziva could not help but look at McGee's empty desk wondering if she would have a chance to work with her friend again as a team. Neither agent was going to question Gibbs when he quietly told them to go home at 1800. Entering the elevator together, Tony asked the same question he'd asked three times during the day, "How the hell did Probie get all his paperwork done and filed?"

"I do not know, Tony. Perhaps it is due to the fact that he can type with more than one finger, hmmm?" Ziva gave a small smile to her partner with a quick sideways glance.

"Very funny Ziva. I'll have you know that I type with two fingers. Seriously, what do you think is going on? I don't like some of the thoughts running around in my head right now." Tony's brow crinkled with a look of worry.

"I am confused as well. Have you tried to call McGee?"

"Yeah, but I just get his voice mail, it's like his phone is turned off. Why would he turn his phone off?"

"I plan to stop at his apartment tonight to talk to him. I want to be sure he knows we do not agree with Gibbs." Walking out of the elevator, Tony held an umbrella for Ziva as he walked her to her car.

"Ducky did tell me that Vance took McGee off rotation for today and tomorrow. When I asked why, Ducky said it was for everyone to cool off after the Gibbs explosion but I got the feeling that there was more to it than that. Palmer said that Ducky as glad Abby isn't here for all of this. After hearing the reasons, I'd say Ducky is right, she would just make it worse right now." Tony stopped next to Ziva's car as she unlocked her car door.

"You think that Abby would not support McGee in this and take Gibbs' point of view, yes?"

"Yeah, and that's how Ducky sees it too. This is one messed up scene, Ziva. I've heard rumors of Vance moving McGee to another team. I heard Blanchard is after him, maybe Andrews too. I don't want the team split up again, Ziva." Tony held the umbrella to keep Ziva dry as she sat in her car.

"I do not wish our team to be split again either, Tony. We must work hard for that not to happen."

As Ziva started to close her car door, Tony yelled, "Tell Probie ...hell I don't know what to have you say. Tell him to call me, OK?" Tony closed the umbrella, he was already wet.

"I understand Tony. Goodnight Tony."

NCIS~~

It's amazing what you can buy or rent these days. A simple internet search provided real estate listings. It was quite easy to find an unused warehouse that included a working freezer. It didn't need to be large, but like they say: location is everything. And this one even had location. Delivery of equipment and supplies was easily arranged to make it usable for the functions it would provide. He found it amusing all the questions that the delivery crews kept asking. Especially about his load of sand. _What was building? A indoor sand pile, an enormous litter box...maybe giant sandcastles!_ He laughed along with their little jokes knowing that they would all show fear in the face of what he had planned. They didn't have the inner strength to endure the training. He was anxious to begin. He'd waited and planned a long time for this and was going to savor ever minute.

The nearest wholesale chain provided more options for provisions than were even needed. The irony was not lost when an extra large box of party mix was added to the cart along with the required list of necessities and rations. Mark Wells chuckled to himself thinking that the party mix would be enjoyable as he observed the evaluation. His time in prison hadn't robbed him completely of his sense of humor. Perhaps his sense of humor was a little more warped now, along with his sense of duty. He had felt it was his duty to train the young marines of their unit in survival. He had to learn the hard way, so should they. He had just tried to make it easier for the younger men of their unit. But he was the one punished when they failed their training. He was the one that lost everything dear to him.

NCIS~~

Gibbs was still sitting at his desk at 2000. The squad room was relatively quiet. The team covering the night shift didn't have an active case and were working cold cases. He found himself staring at the empty desk across from him wondering how the hell things gotten so screwed up so fast. His burning desire to find that little girl and bring her home to her parents took precedence over everything he could see and he'd failed. His team had failed him and he failed that family. He knew that kind of pain and it didn't go away. Every time he closed his eyes he saw the pain of that father that realized he didn't get any more time with his little princess. He felt that same pain every day. Now he was causing his entire team to feel some sort of pain. Is that how he's supposed to lead his agents? Is that his teaching method? But damn it, if he felt they screwed up didn't he have the responsibility as team leader to throw it out in front so they all could see it?

Gibbs finally gave in and called it a day. There was nothing more for him to do here. Staring at that empty desk was not going to give him the answers he needed. Ducky's cryptic speech kept running through his mind alluding to something that connected the kidnapping case and McGee. There was nothing obviously different in McGee's reactions to this case. Things just seem to move slower than usual, or was that all his own perception? Knowing that time was their enemy and he badly wanted to beat that foe. _Ah hell, second guessing doesn't do any good now, _he thought. He still felt it had all come down to a matter of minutes, he was sure of it. But even Ducky couldn't give him absolution on this one.

Shutting off his desk light he walked away from the questions left lingering in the dark. Amidst the sounds of the rain, the ping of an email delivery softly faded to silence.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N This is a piece of fiction written with a good dose of creative license. I freely admit that I do not know every trivia fact about NCIS and that's where my creative license comes in to play. My apologies if my interpretation does not meet yours, I'm simply trying to put on paper a story that is floating around in my imagination. Thank-you—I do appreciate the fact that you take the time to read my type-written scribbles. :-)

Chapter 6

The rain continued Friday morning, sometimes slowing to only a drizzle but never stopping completely.

Gibbs had been in the office for almost an hour before Tony and Ziva arrived to begin another day of reports and paperwork. Gibbs could begin to hear their conversation as they neared the bullpen.

"...visit with McGee go last night?" Tony paused at Ziva's desk as she set her backpack behind her desk.

"I did not get to see McGee last night, Tony. He was not home when I stopped at his apartment. But I did leave another message on his cell phone." Frustration could be heard in the tone of her voice.

Going to his own desk Tony replied, "I left another message too. Do you think he's ignoring us on purpose? We haven't been able to talk to him since..." turning, Tony noticed Gibbs at his desk for the first time. "Uhh... morning, Boss. I'll get right on that paperwork." Tony quickly sat down to boot up his computer.

"DiNozzo, Ziva. You haven't talked to McGee since Wednesday?" Gibbs was now curious as to why his agents hadn't spoken to the young man.

"Um, no Boss. We've been leaving messages but he hasn't returned any calls." Hesitantly, Tony asked,  
"Uhh...you haven't spoken to him, have you Boss?"

"Nope."

"Perhaps we can reach him this morning and ask him to meet us for lunch, yes?" Ziva wondered if she should clarify that it be only Tony and herself for lunch.

"Sure Ziva, but if McGee isn't returning our calls, that may be a little tough." Tony was still looking at Gibbs when Jimmy walked through the bullpen at that moment.

"Dr. Mallard sent this report up for you Agent Gibbs." Turning towards Tony, Jimmy said "Tim mentioned that he was going to spend the day with his sister. I think that may include lunch because he said something about her only having a morning class today."

"What? When did you talk to McGee? Why is he taking your call and not mine?" Tony stood as if to challenge Palmer.

"No! I didn't call him, I saw him yesterday morning as he was leaving. I had come in extra early to get a couple of hours in before needing to leave for an exam. Tim was on his way out. I made the comment that I would see him later but he said he wouldn't be back in until Monday. I asked him what he was going to do with all that free time. He just shrugged and said other than spending today with his sister, he didn't know what he'd do with the time off." Jimmy felt a bit uncomfortable as the three agents stared at him. "Um, I need to get back to Dr. Mallard, if you'll excuse me." Jimmy quickly made his way to the stairwell hoping he didn't say the wrong things.

"Looks like you can work through lunch DiNozzo. Vance wants those reports by 3pm this afternoon." Gibbs left his two remaining agents staring at each other as he got up to refill his coffee.

NCIS~~

Tim sat at his computer at home deleting junk mail from his email account. He had sent Sarah an email that he would meet her for lunch at 11:30 at her favorite deli a block from her dorm. He reminded her that he still hadn't found his cell phone so she wouldn't be able to reach him once he left his apartment. Maybe she would go with him to pick out a new phone. He was quickly losing hope of ever finding his.

Jethro was trying to patiently wait for his faithful master to take him for a walk but he was getting anxious. Tail thumping loudly, his soulful eyes never left Tim's figure as he sat at the desk. Tilting his head a small whimper was heard as Jethro tried to understand why they were still inside instead of outside. "It's raining you know." Looking at his dog, Tim had to smile. The look on the canine face was priceless! " OK, OK, I get the hint! Let's go! Leash!" Jethro bounded up and snatched the leash from the hook by the door and then circled around Tim's legs. Tim grabbed his waterproof jacket as he opened the door. After making sure that his apartment was locked, the man and his dog were headed outdoors for a walk to the park.

A few blocks away, a grey sedan was parked at the corner of the entrance to the park. The windows were tinted, it was difficult to see if anyone occupied the car. But inside, the driver had a perfect view of a carefree man and his dog as they strolled along unnoticed. Routines had bee noted over the past week and today's routine was expected. A walk to the park, play time for the dog, and then stopping for coffee and a smile from the pretty blonde barista on the way back to the apartment. There wouldn't be any coffee today.

The park was unusually empty this morning. Tim reasoned that it was due in part to the rain and the fact that it was much later than their usual time in the park. Watching his dog play in the rain brought another smile to his face. Leave it to the German Shepard to give him a clear mind free of all that had been weighing him down since Wednesday. He hadn't slept much the night before. Unpleasant memories continued to invade his sleep. He was tired but he didn't feel the cords of tension that stayed with him most of the prior day after meeting with Director Vance. Calling for his canine friend, the man and his dog started on their way home.

Tim's neighborhood was quiet and relatively safe. He and Jethro walked these streets daily. Jethro seemed to be quite popular with a pair of elderly sisters that lived together in a ground floor flat two blocks away from the park. Tim and Jethro had met the sisters months ago while on their daily walk when one of the ladies had stumbled while they themselves were on their daily walk also. Tim and Jethro assisted the ladies home that day and much to Tim's surprise, Jethro had been very protective of the sisters ever since then. Perhaps it had to do with the fact the sisters, Julia and Olivia, kept Jethro's favorite treats in a jar near their door. Julia and Olivia later began baking Tim's favorite cookies as well so he didn't mind letting Jethro visit. Tim's thoughts were occupied with the idea of stopping by to see the sisters to make sure they were doing well and didn't need anything. He didn't want one of the ladies to take a fall in the rain. The car they were walking towards nor the man at the rear of the car were noticed until Jethro strained against his leash letting out a low growl. Tim looked over at the man just as a tire iron was swung his way. He got his arm up in time to make it a glancing blow off his head instead of receiving a full blow. Dizzy and startled, Tim stumbled and dropped Jethro's leash. Jethro growled and started to attack but was struck down hard with the first blow to the head, the second to the neck and the final blow to the shoulder. Jethro laid unmoving on edge of the sidewalk unaware that his master was receiving another blow to the side of the head and then roughly shoved into the back seat of the grey sedan. Calmly, as if nothing had happened, the sedan pulled away from the park leaving the injured dog behind lying in the rain.

NCIS~~

Sarah was running across campus getting soaked in the process even with an umbrella. She was late! Tim was going to kill her!-if he was even still waiting for her at the deli. It was now 12:55, she was over an hour late for her lunch date with her brother. She was mentally kicking herself as she made her way in the door of the small delicatessen. Looking around at all the customers she was hoping he would still be there but reality set in when she could not find his familiar face. She had gotten caught up in a discussion with her professor and a small group of students from her Linguistic History of English class. Since Tim didn't have his cell phone she couldn't call to tell him she was running late but she really needed to stay for this discussion. Knowing that something was deeply bothering her brother, she now wished she'd left right after class to meet him here at the deli. Ever since he dropped by unexpectedly on Wednesday, she had known something was wrong. She was hoping he would open up and talk to her today. They had been emailing nightly but he always kept the emails light. Knowing that there was no way to reach him this afternoon, Sarah resolved herself to making sure she found him sometime over the weekend so that they could talk. Releasing a heavy sigh, Sarah ordered her favorite sandwich to go and tried to think of ways to make this up to her brother.

NCIS~~

Jethro whimpered as he moved his head. He laid back down in the wet grass. He tried again to stand, this time managing to make it to all four legs. Yelping as he took a step, walking was quickly done on three legs instead of four. Intelligent eyes swept the surrounding area looking for his master. Quiet whimpers of pain and desperation were not noticed by passers-by who were trying to stay dry. Without his master, Jethro slowly limped his way to the closest place he felt safe. Twenty minutes later Julia heard scratching noises at their door. The ladies had decided not to go out in the rain today, hoping for better weather tomorrow. "Are you expecting anyone to drop by Olivia?" Julia asked her sister as she made her way to the door. "No dear, no one." Olivia's curiosity was peaked but the pain in her hip kept her from going to the foyer with her sister. Opening the door, Julia didn't see anyone and wondered if she had been hearing things. As she started to close the door, she heard the whimper of pain and looked down to see Jethro standing at their doorstep. "Oh dear! Olivia, Jethro seems to be hurt!"

NCIS~~

Tim's head was exploding with pain. It hurt to open his eyes. The movement of the car only added to the pain he felt in his head and he had to fight to keep the nausea at bay. Without warning, loud thunderclaps overhead made it seem as though someone was playing kettle drums inside his brain. The last thing he remembered was the sheet lightening that lit up the darkness that enveloped him as he passed out again.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Tim was starting to become aware of his surroundings. His head is pounding and it hurts to even try to open his eyes. Whatever he is laying on is hard and cold, he struggled to think but realized he is on a concrete. _Am I on the sidewalk by the park?_ The last thing that comes to mind is Jethro and walking near the park. _Where is Jethro?_ A moan escaped as he tried to lift his head, the pain is excruciating. Slowly, he raised his hand to his head and found it was wet and sticky behind his ear and the side of his face. Opening his eyes to look at his hand he sees the blood that covers his fingertips. He also noticed he is not outside on the sidewalk by the park but inside a building. _Where am I_ —_why am I here?_ Tim hears movement coming towards him and looks in that direction to see a tall figure moving quickly in his direction. As the figure gets closer, Tim tries to call out for help but is brutally kicked in the abdomen knocking the wind out of him.

Rolling in pain and coughing, he hears a male voice screaming at him. "Always move to a defensive position when you realize the enemy is near! You didn't even try to protect yourself. Are you just going to give your opponent the upper hand?"

Trying to get his bearings, Tim looks at the man yelling at him, willing himself to understand what is happening. "What do you want…"

"NEVER try to engage your opponent in conversation, do you understand me? When you are under attack your only response is strike back in defense."

The man was walking around Tim's prone figure coming back around to his chest. Just as his assailant was about to kick again, Tim desperately grabbed at one leg and knocked his attacker to the ground rolling him onto his stomach. Tim was about to move to lie on the mans back to try hold him down when Tim felt a boot smash into his cheekbone. Screaming in pain, Tim fell backwards rolling onto his side, one hand holding the side of his face. Breathing heavily through all the pain, he tried to ignore the fact that his attacker was bending over him once again.

"Not bad, but as you just learned, you must always secure both legs. You left one leg free to strike. You get points for the take down; I'll give you that. Your training in self-defense and survival is lacking soldier. We're here to correct that." The man stood up straight and started to pace in front of Tim.

Short of breath, it was difficult to speak but Tim had to try and talk to this man. "You.. have me ...confused….I'm not...a soldier. Please...my name is...Tim Mc…"

Stopping in front of McGee he yelled, "Did I give you permission to speak Marine? Your instruction has been lacking and has left you in a vulnerable position."

"Please...I'm not who you think I am."

"Oh, you are exactly who I think you are Timothy McGee."

NCIS~~

It was mid-afternoon and annoyed that McGee's phone kept ringing, Gibbs yelled to Tony "DiNozzo! Answer his phone!" Tony muttered under his breath, "W_hat am I, McGee's answering service?"_

"You say something DiNozzo?"

"NO BOSS! Answering the phone Boss!" Tony jumped up from his desk to reach the phone before it rang again.

"Agent McGee's desk, can I help you?"

"Yes, hello. I'm trying to reach Tim McGee. Is he available?" Tony was drawn in by the voice that sounded mature but incredibly sultry. Wondering how McGee could get a woman that sounded so melodic to call him at work on his desk phone, Tony turned on the charm. With a smile in his voice he replied smoothly, "I'm very sorry Miss, Agent McGee is not available. This is Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, I'm sure that I can help you in any way that you need."

"Oh, I don't think so, but thank you. Tim always takes care of our needs and we are anxious to hear from him. Could you please ask Tim to call Olivia and Julia as soon as possible? He has our number."

"Can I tell Agent McGee to what this is in reference?

"Oh…well… I know how Tim likes to keep his personal affairs quiet, but if you could tell him that we've returned from the doctor's office. Nothing too serious to worry about, some deep muscle bruising and cuts around the dog collar. But we can take care of all that at home. We'd like him to stop by so that we can make sure that he wasn't hurt in any way. We're quite worried about him actually."

"Have you tried reaching him on his cell phone...Miss…?"

"Oh, excuse me, Julia. We've tried reaching Tim but he hasn't answered his phone. We did leave a message. We would go to Tim's apartment but Olivia was advised to rest—too much physical activity and it wouldn't be right for me to go to Tim's apartment alone."

"I'm sorry?…why wouldn't it be alright for you to go alone?" Tony was confused, surely he wasn't hearing what he thought he was hearing.

"Well, Tim would expect to see both of us. He's told us before that he doesn't want to see us alone, that we were too precious to be at risk traveling unaccompanied. Isn't that sweet of him? So we do everything together. Tim doesn't like it when we don't heed his instructions."

"I see. Well, yes, Julia, I will certainly tell Agent McGee to call you as soon as possible. Take care of those cuts and bruises."

"Thank you Agent DiNozzo. Good bye."

Tony hung up McGee's phone and sat on the edge of his desk with the most incredulous look of disbelief on his face.

"Tony, you look like something is wrong. Was that a disturbing phone call?" Ziva looked at her partner with concern.

"Disturbing, that's one way to put it. It appears that McGoo is into sisters and dog collars. Hmm, I wonder if Abby knows…."

That comment got Gibbs' attention and he looked up with a smirk on his face when he saw DiNozzo's look of envy. "What's the matter DiNozzo, jealous?"

"Tony, I am sure you completely misinterpreted that phone call." Ziva gave Tony a look that conveyed her doubt at what he'd said.

Coming to stand in front of Ziva's desk Tony replied excitedly with wild hand gestures and a scowl on this face, "Oh, I don't think so Ziva. I think I can figure out exactly what she was saying. Sexy voice saying Tim takes care of 'their needs'. They'd been to the doctor and came home with muscle bruising and cuts around the dog collar. Rest was advised for her sister Olivia because of 'too much physical activity'. The sisters do everything together and Tim doesn't like it 'when they don't follow his instructions'…..do you want to hear more? I'm pretty sure I've got this one figured out, Ziva. Who knew Probie could go all domineering?…. I still want to know if Abby knows. Maybe she started it…"

"DiNozzo, enough daydreaming. Turn in your reports."

Looking dejected like a young boy that had to stop playing to do homework, Tony returned to his desk to complete the last of his paperwork.

NCIS~~

Tim realized he must have passed out again. He was no longer lying in the middle of the room but sitting propped up in a corner. The space was relatively empty. Across from him was a long table and two bar stools. His vision was too blurry to identify the objects on the table. He touched his cheek where he was kicked by the boot, fingers probing gently. Pain radiated outwards from the cheekbone. The entire right side of his face hurt. Closing his eyes to the pain, Tim tried to make sense of what was happening to him. He remembered taking Jethro to the park in the rain. He even remembered Jethro had been chasing squirrels and frolicking around like a puppy. And the last thing he recalled was wanting to stop to check on Julia and Olivia. After that….nothing. He had no idea how he got here or who this man was that held him captive. Leaning his head back to rest against the wall, all he could think of was how much he wished he were at home.

"Nice to see you are finally awake. Normally, I would not give you that much time to rest but since you surprised me earlier with your leg-hold, I felt you deserved a little reward." Tim was startled to find the man right in front of him, he'd heard no noise or movement at all.

"Then maybe you can just let me go now."

NCIS~~

Vance was satisfied with all the reports and case files turned in on the kidnapping case. Ziva and Tony were working on miscellaneous paperwork trying to fill out the afternoon. Gibbs had been stuck on a conference call with Vance and Commander Henry from the Maryland FLETC center. They were reviewing Gibbs' schedule for the next week and Vance made it known to Commander Henry what his expectations were as well. When Gibbs was finally freed from Vance's office, it was 1730. "Go home," he barked at his two agents as he jogged down the stairs. Tony and Ziva watched Gibbs as he returned to his desk. Tony just couldn't keep silent any longer.

"Boss, what are we supposed to do next week if you are at FLETC? Are we being punished here?" Tony came to stand in front of Gibbs' desk, hoping for answers from his boss.

"My punishment, not yours, DiNozzo. You'll have to find out from Vance what he has planned for you. He wouldn't tell me a thing." Clearing his desk off and beginning to check through his dreaded email, he was preparing to be away from his desk for a week. "Go home. Take advantage of the down time this weekend. Just make sure you're ready to get back to real work when I get back here from FLETC in a week." Gibbs tried to determine if any of the email messages looked important while not looking at his Senior Agent standing in front of him.

"Still feels like we're being punished here. I mean, no one blames McGee for anything wrong in this case. Unless you still do. I won't speak for Ziva, but I'll say it—if you do still blame McGee, you're wrong, Gibbs. Sometimes he did seem a little weird during that whole case but he worked his ass off getting anything he could out of the computers. What you said to him Boss just seemed out of line. We know you were upset about this case, but..."

Standing up and moving to only inches from Tony's face, Gibbs fired back, "You telling me I was out of line, DiNozzo?" The tension was thick as Gibbs and Tony just stared at each other until Gibbs broke it off and walked away. "Go home," he barked again as the elevator doors closed.

Neither Tony nor Ziva noticed Vance observing from above the bullpen.

NCIS~~

Tim was grabbed roughly by the front of his jacket and hauled to a standing position. Being shoved more towards the center of the room, Tim started to lose his balance until his attacker seized his right arm and wrenched it around his back holding it high and tight against Tim's body. Tim arched his back and twisted trying to ease the pain afflicted on his arm and shoulder but to no avail. "What do you want from me?" Tim yelled, desperately trying to find out what was going on.

"I thought I made that clear, McGee. You need additional training."

"Why me? Who are you? I don't understand!." Tim's arm continued to be twisted up and pressed against him to the point he thought it might break.

"Why you? You are the youngest of your unit, McGee. It's my duty to train the youngest so that you'll survive. All you have to do is survive until he comes for you. But your training will make you a better soldier for when he's no longer around. If you need a name to put on me, you can call me Wells." Wells had leaned in close to speak directly into Tim's ear all the while putting more pressure on Tim's arm and shoulder. He needed the young man to understand that the pain was for real, he wasn't going to talk his way out of anything.

Groaning from the new pressure put on his arm, Tim voice was raspy as he said, "Who's supposed to come for me? What unit are you talking about? I'm not a soldier!"

"Don't worry, he'll come for you. He never leaves a man behind. Gibbs won't leave you behind." Without warning, Wells spun Tim around and took advantage of his disorientation; landing two rapid punches near Tim's liver and a blow to the jaw.

Tim's head snapped back and caused him to lose his balance. Landing hard on the shoulder that had been twisted he let out a moan of pain. Not even looking at Wells, Tim spat out, "If you're wanting to use me to get Gibbs, you're out of luck. He kicked me off his team! He won't come for me, I don't matter to him!"

NCIS~~

After missing lunch with Tim, Sarah spent most of the day at the library researching a paper and then later having dinner with friends. Upon returning to her dorm room later that night, Sarah was concerned that she hadn't heard from Tim all day. Checking her email she was sure there would be a message from her brother. Finding her inbox empty of mail from her sibling, she quickly typed an apology for missing lunch and asking for forgiveness. Trying to pull at his heartstrings, she signed off with "love and hugs Big Brother—your Baby Sister." Looking out the window of her dorm room, Sarah watched in fascination the the way the clouds lit up when lightning appeared out of nowhere without any warning.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N Thank-you to all that have reviewed, your comments are cherished.

The usual disclaimer: I own nothing...

Chapter 8

Tim awoke to water dripping on his face. Pain assaulted his body from everywhere, his head, his ribs, his hands. Everything hurt. In addition to the pain, memories started assaulting him. The initial blow from Wells and the fact that Wells thought Gibbs would come looking for him. Tim's denial that Gibbs would find them seemed to enrage Wells. He decided to test Tim, to see just how well he could defend himself. Once again Wells dragged Tim to his feet, shoving him towards the tall table. Tim caught his balance using one of the stools and doubled over trying to catch his breath. Without warning, Tim went down on his knees after being struck by a metal pipe. Tim hadn't had time to notice the assortment of instruments laid out on the table. Wells had selected an 18-inch metal pipe as his first choice.

Wondering how the young man would react to a direct blow to his lower back, he was disappointed but not all that surprised. "You should always respond to a direct attack. Kneeling will only get you more of the same." The metal pipe connected again, this time two blows to the ribs. Tim tried to move away but instead was yanked by the collar towards his attacker. Tim tried to use that momentum to launch himself into a body blow. Both men ended up sprawled out on the floor. Tim tried to wrestle away the pipe but received an elbow in the throat instead. Wells quickly took the advantage as Tim rolled away trying to breathe. Securing Tim in a choke hold from behind, Wells rolled them so that Tim was beneath him. As the grip tightened on the choke hold, Tim found himself losing the battle for consciousness. As quickly as as the grip was increased, it was released. "No, I don't think I want you passing out, McGee."

Struggling to breathe, Tim tried to get to his feet. So far, not being on his feet wasn't working out so well. Stumbling backwards, his back hit the table. Turning to see the contents for the first time, Tim reached out for the nearest object, a double edged boot knife.

A small laugh escaped from Wells as he said, "Finally, you seem to be taking some initiative soldier. Now, do you know what to do with that knife? Well, let's find out." Unarmed, Wells advanced. Tim raised the knife but his arm was knocked away by Wells. Trying to strike again, Tim was again thwarted by Wells. A quick flat hand to the face that caused disorientation made it easy to wrap up Tim's arm that held the knife. Knee kicks to the ribs had Tim doubled over in pain. Elbow to the back of the head, once...twice...three times and the knife dropped out of Tim's hand. Tim was able to recover enough to land a punch to Wells jaw. But a couple of vicious blows to the left side of Tim's head was all that was needed to finish Tim. The pain exploded from his already fragile cheek and tire iron bashed temple.

"Well, we now know you aren't very skilled with a knife. You should have tried spinning me once I had your knife hand wrapped up. You might have been able to get me off balance enough to actually use that knife. Or one of us may have landed it on, but it's a risk you have to take."

Flashes of other similar scenes ran past Tim's eyes. Boxing and street fighting. His hands took a beating along with his ribs and eye. That must have been when the bar stool was broken. He could feel the sting of cuts on his neck and shoulders. A rush of comments from Wells invaded his thoughts.

"You need to be quicker McGee."

"FASTER, YOU HAVE TO WORK THIS FASTER."

"You're not going to get through this if you don't try harder."

Tim wanted nothing more than to close his mind to all the images and thoughts. But he knew he wouldn't have the chance. He could hear footsteps coming towards him.

NCIS~~

Saturday morning found Sarah back at the library. The halls of knowledge were almost empty. The continued rain and gloom made for a good morning to sleep in as most students must have found. But Sarah couldn't sleep, she was distracted by her own thoughts. She still hadn't heard from her brother. Tim hadn't returned her emails from Friday night or early this morning. _"God, he must be really pissed off at me for missing our lunch date. But seriously! He knows I have to study and sometimes class runs long. OK, maybe not an hour and a half long, but he knows! He knows better than anyone how I can lose track of time with a subject. He does the same thing! God this sucks. I just wish he'd yell at me and get it over with instead of this silent treatment."_

By mid-morning, Sarah had to give up. She was so distracted by Tim's avoidance of her that she couldn't concentrate. Deciding to go see him, Sarah packed up her books and headed to her dorm room to change clothes. Forty-five minutes later, Sarah exited the cab in front of Tim's building. She could see his car in the parking lot so at least the trip wasn't for nothing she thought. While knocking on his door, she tried to figure out how she was going to apologize to get his forgiveness. Her brow furrowed as she knocked again. She'd seen his car, where would he be? Fishing for his apartment key she knocked once more before unlocking the door.

"Tim...Tim, it's me. I saw your car, stop hiding from me. I'm sorry, OK?"

Checking his bedroom to make sure he wasn't asleep or sick, she noticed Jethro's bed was empty also.

Looking around the apartment she realized Jethro's leash was gone also. "A walk in the rain? Well, I guess Jethro does need to go out, even if it is raining. I'll just wait."

An hour later and Tim had still not returned. Deciding she couldn't wait all day, Sarah wrote Tim a note that she left on the one place she knew he would see it—his keyboard.

"Please email or call me! I'm sorry about lunch on Friday. Stopped by while you and Jethro must be out for a walk in the rain. I'll probably be at the library for the rest of the day and have a study group all day on Sunday but I need to hear from you. I hate it when you are mad at me. I love you. S"

Finishing the note, Sarah called for a cab. One last look around Tim's apartment before she left, she figured with her luck, he'd return five minutes after she was gone. But she really needed to get back to researching that paper. He couldn't stay mad at her forever.

NCIS~~

The first thing Tim noticed was that he'd been moved to a different room. Water no longer dripped on him, the roof didn't leak in this room. Next he noticed the oppressive heat. Opening his eyes he noticed above him was an industrial size infrared heater. It was mounted on an overhead trolley that traveled the entire room. He had no idea of how long he'd already been laying directly beneath the heat source, but he needed to move away. His body did not want to cooperate, pain radiated all throughout his torso. His shoulder was stiff, his ribs were sore and it hurt to breathe. He found a bottle of water next to him as he got to his feet. Tim guzzled almost a third of the bottle while shuffling away from the heat. There was little in the room. A metal table, a cardboard box and sand. A lot of sand, it was everywhere in the room. Some piles as high as seven feet. He could feel sand in his shoes already. Trying to find a spot as far away from the infrared heater, he downed another large swig from the bottled water. Tim didn't notice the commercial sized fan in the corner until it came to life. Slow to start, it quickly picked up speed. Sand started to swirl, assaulting his face until he turned his back to the fan. Blinking rapidly as he tried to clear sand from his eyes, he began to feel the sand biting into his neck and scalp. He needed to find some sort of protection. Trying to think logically about what to do he heard the crackling of an old speaker being turned on.

"Survival training is as important as self defense McGee. While we wait for Gibbs, we'll work on your survival skills. A soldier must learn how to survive in intense heat, sometimes for days with little water. Sandstorms are always a threat in the desert. How will you do with our little desert experiment? You probably shouldn't have used so much of your water supply, there won't be any more."

"Gibbs? I've told you, I mean nothing to Gibbs." It was hard enough to breathe with his battered ribs and the bruised throat. The swirling sand already began to irritate his windpipe. Trying to make himself heard over the sound of the fan and heater just aggravated his throat even more. Shouting as loud as he could, Tim yelled, "I'm no use to you. Gibbs wanted to fire my ass. He's got no man left behind to rescue. Just let me go."

In answer to his plea, the infrared heater was moved along the trolley to rest right overhead of where Tim stood. Immediately, Tim could feel the intense heat. The table was only a few feet away. Tim dove for the table scrambling to use it as a shield from the heat. But in minutes he had to abandon the table, the metal only intensified the heat. Tim made the mistake of grabbing the edge of the table with his right hand as he moved to get away from the heat source. The palm of his hand was immediately burned, possibly a second degree burn. An infrared heater heats the objects not the air.

Trying to ignore the pain of his hand and the sting of the sand, Tim tried to find something for shelter. The heater was still overhead making it feel as though he was in the desert at high noon. Sweating profusely already, Tim shed his jacket. Having on only a short sleeve tshirt under his jacket left his arms exposed to the sand. But the heat was unbearable, he'd had to make a choice. Seeing the cardboard box being tossed in the fan gust, he snatched it as it tumbled by. The box was too small to sit in and too small to use as a body shield, but he might find some use for it. Moving to the corner opposite of the fan, Tim sat with his back to the fan. The sand was everywhere. He could feel granules of sand being embedded in his wounds. His eyes were already irritated. It was only going to get worse the longer he was exposed to the heat, wind and sand. Tim didn't even hear the infrared heater being moved towards his corner. Perhaps he would have been surprised to find another commercial fan being revealed and put into play to add another layer to the sandstorm. Tim didn't notice these things as he was concentrating on protecting his eyes and airways as well as determine how to survive this challenge.

NCIS~~

Mark Wells was enjoying his vantage point in the control room overlooking the sandstorm. He'd even opened the box of party mix he'd bought on a whim. The commercial fans were on remote controlled pallets that he moved to around the room to create new wind patterns for the sand throughout the day. The infrared heater on the overhead trolley was easy to maneuver. Changing conditions from high heat to high winds and sand to a combination of both kept him occupied. He noted with interest that the young man moved very little. He had put the box over his head and shoulders during one particularly intense wind/sand combination but had to remove it when the heat became too intense. Wells guessed that it became difficult to breath with the box in place. He could see that the man's exposed skin was wind-burned and blistered. He'd taken little of what was left of his bottle of water. Dehydration would set in soon. Wells had given the man no food and little water after abducting him the day prior. Checking the clock, he was surprised that ten hours had elapsed already. Time really does fly when you are having fun.

Wells had an errand to complete. He'd meant to perform this task last night, but he'd become so engrossed with their training, he had completely forgotten. Wells left the warehouse and drove to an all night convenience store about a mile away. There, he called for a taxi to take him to McGee's neighborhood. Not wanting to have any taxi records of anyone dropped at McGee's address, he had the Tabbie drive him to the grocery store nearest McGee's apartment. From there, Wells walked to Tim's building. He'd relieved Tim of all personal belongings in his pockets shortly after having abducted Tim. Walking quickly to Tim's Porsche, he unlocked the car and quietly drove away from the building. Enjoying the luxury sports car, he drove out into the country for a little mild off-roading to cover the car in mud. Satisfied with his artwork, Wells next drove to Dulles International Airport. Choosing the long term parking furthest from the terminals, Wells parked the Porsche near an area that was not well lit and by the fence. He backed the car into the spot getting the rear of the car as near to the fence as possible so that the license plate could not be seen unless someone walked around the car. Satisfied, Wells walked towards the entrance of the parking lot to find a shuttle stop nowhere near where he's dropped the car. It was late, not as many shuttles on a Saturday night after 10pm. But he didn't mind waiting. Thirty-five minutes later, Wells was in front of the main terminal building hailing a taxi. The return trip home included two additional stops to change taxis but in the end, he was content with his outing. It was, after all, the first time he'd been able to get out for some fresh air since entertaining his guest.

NCIS~~

Tony had been driving around in the rain for an hour. He wanted to talk to Tim, but since Tim hadn't returned any phone calls he didn't feel right about dropping by unannounced. Tim was probably mad that he didn't speak up and say anything when Gibbs was blaming him for that girl's death and yelling at him to leave the squad room. The look on McGee's face when he left was haunting. He didn't have an answer as to why he kept silent, he should have spoken up. He just didn't know what he would have said.

Tony arrived at Gibbs' house on autopilot. Parking on the street in front of the house, Tony just sat for a while. Finally getting the courage to go in, Tony gets out of his car sprinting to the porch. It didn't make a difference, he was still soaked.

The front door was unlocked as usual. Walking through, he quietly called for Gibbs. No answer except for the sounds of movement in the basement. Pausing at the top of the stairs, Tony once again found himself not knowing what to say.

"You just going to stand up there, or are you going to come down DiNozzo?" Gibbs called from his workbench. He wasn't all that surprised by the visit from his Senior Field Agent.

Tony slowly made his way down the stairs to sit at the bottom. Neither man spoke, tension filled the air. Tony realized that Gibbs wouldn't say anything and after all, he was the one that came to Gibbs.

Tony couldn't look at Gibbs as he said, "Boss, I need to understand what's going on. I mean...what happened with that case, how did it get so out of control?"

"You saying I'm out of control, DiNozzo?" Gibbs raised an eyebrow.

"I'm saying I don't understand, Gibbs. Just...what did McGee do to warrant what was said? I mean, we all worked that case. We all got there after that scumbag killed her."

"DiNozzo, I rely on my team to find the answers. To find the answers as fast as possible. McGee didn't do that this time. I don't know what was going on in his head, but I need his head on the case at all times. I can't afford to have any of my team not giving 100 percent."

"But Boss, telling him to get out, that you don't want to see him again?...Do you really mean that? I mean...do you want a change in the team?" Tony had gotten up from his seat on the steps and was pacing around Gibbs' basement.

Gibbs was quiet, staring at nothing on the workbench. He didn't know how to answer Tony's question. Did he want the team broken? No, but he also couldn't just overlook what had happened in that case. He was still trying to figure out Ducky's little riddle about McGee but he didn't have a clue. How he reacted to Tony would set the tone for how the team would react.

"Boss, I don't want the team split up again and that's how this feels. I need to know that we're going to be able to work this whole thing out. That you are going to be able to work it out with McGee, set straight whatever it is that needs to be set straight. I need to know that you're willing to fix this." Tony stopped his pacing and stood facing Gibbs, waiting for any sign. Minutes, it took minutes for Gibbs to finally turn and look DiNozzo in the eye. But no words were spoken. Hurt could be seen in each man's eyes. Tony was at a loss for words and couldn't stand to show his pain any longer. As Tony climbed the stairs, the howling of the wind and rain outside was reflective of how each man felt but couldn't put into words.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I own nothing but my imagination, enjoy :-)

Chapter 9

Gibbs barely slept all night. He kept going over everything that had happened since Wednesday. Finding they were too late to save that little girl; taking his despair and anger out on McGee; the dressing down by Vance and the unsettling conversation with Ducky; Tony's fears of the team being split; it was all too much and sleep was quickly forgotten. The howling wind and rain certainly fit his mood. He was angry and frustrated. Every time he thought of the case and that little girl, all he could see was Kelly. He was infuriated that they had gotten to her to late. Ducky was right, he'd needed to save her. It was his substitution for not being there for Kelly and Shannon and it felt like losing them all over again. He knew he needed to move past it but...Kelly's face and smile were all he could see.

The early morning was spent with a hard run to burn off the tension, followed by much needed coffee and a few hours lost in deep thought downstairs in the sanctuary of his basement. After a call to his long-time friend, Gibbs was relieved to see Ducky walk through his door with no malice. He valued Ducky's opinions and views.

"Jethro, my friend, I am glad that you called me today. How are you doing?" Ducky called as he walked towards his old friend trying unsuccessfully not to drip all over the house.

"Hey, Duck. Did I interrupt an afternoon with your mother?" Gibbs turned towards Ducky with a cup of tea in hand.

"Ah, thank-you Jethro. Just what I needed. Mother is spending the afternoon at a Daughters of Scotia society event. She will be occupied until this evening with the other ladies in all things Scot. I find that it is time well spent for her and for me." Ducky had a small smile of satisfaction on his face as he sipped his tea.

There was a comfortable silence between the two men as they sat in the kitchen. Gibbs knew found it hard to start the conversation and Ducky didn't want to push his friend. Staring at the rain, Gibbs set his coffee mug down and tired to put his worries into words.

"Have I let my pain and anger ruin my team Duck?...DiNozzo is worried the team will be split up again and has been asking for reassurances" Ducky could see the concern in Gibbs eyes even when they were not focused on him.

"Just what exactly is Anthony asking? And have you been able to give Anthony those assurances, Jethro?"

"No, I haven't Duck. And knowing DiNozzo, that's not setting well with him." Gibbs rubbed his face in frustration.

"Well, just what have you been able to tell the poor boy, Jethro?" Ducky's voice relayed the concern that he had for the situation.

"I haven't been able to say much at all when he asks about how the team will get past this. He knows my expectations of the team but he keeps asking about McGee and I can't answer that right now," Gibbs answered as he hung his head.

"Oh dear. Jethro, Anthony most likely is taking your lack of comment on Timothy or how the team will survive as confirmation that things are as he suspects. We both know how insecure Anthony can be when it comes to family. This team has been the family that he has come to rely on. He's been without the younger brother of the family for a few days now. And this week he will be without the head of the family unit with your assignment to FLETC. This most undoubtedly has been a very stressful situation for Anthony that doesn't appear to be getting any better." Ducky let Gibbs think about these comments for a minute before continuing.

"Jethro, you need to determine what you want to become of your team. And whether or not that includes Timothy. Did you mean what you said when you told the young man you didn't want to see him again? You may be surprised at what your team expects from you. What do you expect of your team, Jethro?" Ducky knew that this was a lot for Gibbs to take in but they both knew there was much that had to be resolved.

"I know from Vance that there are other teams at NCIS that want McGee to join them. I know I don't want to lose him especially to the FBI, they've been sniffing around asking about him. He's the best at what he does but..."

"But what, Jethro? What is standing in the way?"

"Duck, there was something off about McGee. Nothing I could put my finger on but there was something else going on with him while working that case. I need my agents focused on the case at hand. I need to be able to rely on them to bring their best to an investigation. I keep thinking about what you were trying to tell me about McGee, but I got to tell you Duck, I can't make heads or tales out of what you were saying." Gibbs pleaded with his eyes for Ducky to help him understand.

"I cannot, in good conscience, break the trust given to me with information about our young Timothy. However, I am going to tell you a story. Mind you, this is a work of fiction, any similarity to persons living or dead is strictly coincidence." Ducky's eyebrows were almost to his hairline as he tilted his head at his friend.

"I once heard of a family that was almost torn apart when one of the children was abducted from the family home. The remaining child was blamed by one parent for not finding the missing sibling. The words said were biting and hurtful. The parent was heard berating the child to work faster at finding the missing child and then belittlement because the missing sibling could have died as a result of first child not being good enough or fast enough. Luckily, the missing child was found unharmed but the damage was done to the child that had not been abducted. A sad story if I may say so."

Gibbs closed his eyes and lowered his chin to his chest. Shaking his head in disbelief, he was overwhelmed by the memories of what he'd said. _"If that's your best McGee, I don't need you on my team. If that was your best, it wasn't damn good enough." _Had he really said that to McGee?

NCIS~~

Ziva and Tony met for lunch to commiserate together. Tony relayed to Ziva his late night visit to Gibbs and Ziva could see that the visit had not alleviated Tony's fears about the team. "Tony...did Gibbs give any indication of what was to happen with McGee?" Tony had lapsed into silence and Ziva hoped to draw him out again.

"No, he kept saying that McGee didn't give 100percent and he didn't keep his head in the case. I asked him if he really meant that he wanted McGee gone. He didn't even answer the question Ziva. It took minutes before he could even look me in the eye after I asked him that and he still didn't answer. I can't believe he would want to change the team. We're the best team in the Yard. Gibbs is proud of that fact."

"Perhaps he is still finding it difficult to deal with the case of the little girl that reminded him of his daughter. That could be a reason for not dealing with the situation or McGee." Ziva was as upset as Tony about the possibility of the team being reassigned but used all of her training to keep her emotions hidden.

"We still have not spoken to McGee. I suggest we go to his apartment and try to speak with him directly. Would you go with me, Tony?"

"I'll drive Ziva." Tony gave a small smile to his partner as he signaled to their waitress for the check.

Twenty minutes later, Tony and Ziva were pulling into the parking lot for Tim's apartment building.

"McGee's car is not here. He is assigned that parking stall there." Ziva had pointed to a spot under the carport closest to the entrance to the building.

Tony was frustrated at not finding the younger agent at home. "Guess we'll have to catch him tomorrow at the Yard. I'll leave him another message tonight telling him that we want to talk with him."

"I will leave a message tonight as well. He needs to know that we do not support Gibbs on what he said to McGee. Since I live close by, perhaps I can stop by again this evening with the hopes that Tim will be at home." Ziva sighed as they drove away from Tim's apartment feeling disappointed not having been able to speak to her friend.

NCIS~~

"Wake up! I said wake up!" Wells was shouting at Tim's unmoving figure. Nudging Tim with his foot, Wells shouted again. " I've been soft on you! It's noon, get up!" The night before, Wells had found Tim passed out in the corner of the sand room almost exactly as he had left him before leaving on his errand. The fans and heater had been turned off when he left but Tim was still sitting facing the corner, protecting his face. When Wells had reached Tim's position, he lifted the unconscious man in a fireman's carry and carried Tim back to the small room where they had tried some self defense training. Laying Tim on the floor in the center of the room, Wells checked his breathing and pulse. Shallow breaths with slow and irregular heart beat, but he was alive. The effects of dehydration were evident: dry mouth and cracked lips; he was no longer sweating from the heat; evidence of some dried vomit on his clothes. Tim's eyes, ears, nose and mouth were coated in sand. After pouring a small amount of water into Tim's mouth, he rolled Tim on his side so as not to choke on the water. Taking a small cloth, Wells ran the wet cloth over Tim's face removing some of the sand. Once done, he left Tim alone in the room to rest for the night.

"Get up McGee!" Wells had seen Tim's slight response evident in eye movement and a change in respiration. Tim's head moved slightly causing him to grimace, although the sound that was made was so hoarse and dry it sounded inhuman. Slowing, Tim's body started to react and he tried to roll to a sitting position but failed. He had little strength, his eyes burned, his skin felt seared and he began to cough. Sand scorched his throat as he coughed making it doubly painful.

"You survived your little pretend desert, but only barely." Wells made a disgusted sound and turned away from Tim walking towards the table on the side of the room. He had his laptop on the table and appeared to be checking his email.

"I'm surprised we haven't seen any sign of Gibbs yet. He must be getting slow with age. He's not responded to my emails, I wonder why?" Wells was surprised when he heard a bark-like sound coming from Tim. He turned and saw the man again try to get to a sitting position.

Trying to get up, Tim hoarsely laughed in disbelief when he heard Wells mention Gibbs not responding to his email. His voice was so rough and it hurt to speak, "Email?...you moron...Gibbs...he doesn't...doesn't read email..."

Tim had moved enough that he was once again in direct line of the leaking roof, the rain dripping down on him like teardrops.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: the usual disclaimer, I own nothing, CBS has it all

Chapter 10

Tim was too exhausted to try to move out of the path of the rain dripping from the roof. He felt as though the heat and the sand had beaten the life out of him. He felt disoriented and his mind felt sluggish, was he sure of what he'd heard Wells say?, "_He's not responded to my emails, I wonder why?_"Tim started to laugh, not with humor but in disbelief. His laugh was unrecognizable, perhaps more of a bark, a howl, a cough; almost maniacal. The sound of his laughter infuriated Wells. The louder Tim laughed, the more incensed Wells became.

"SHUT UP!"..."I ..SAID...SHUT UP!" Wells screamed at Tim. "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYMORE OUT OF YOU." Wells grabbed a black jack from the table next to his laptop as he moved towards Tim, his face contorted in anger. "I'll shut you up," he hissed, as first he landed a kick to the ribs and then a blow to the head with the black jack. The gash along Tim's hair line above his left eye immediately began to flow into his eyes, but Tim didn't notice. The kick broke an already cracked rib and he was knocked unconscious. Wells loomed over Tim's unmoving body as he tried to calm himself. Speaking quietly as if Tim was just sleeping, Wells murmured, "I don't like it when people laugh at me."

NCIS~~

Gibbs had spent most of the day in his basement trying to sand away the guilt and anger. Ducky had left him with a lot to think about. He was coming to realize he had to find a way to reign in the guilt and grief he was feeling for not saving the little girl. Not every case can be solved the way they want or hope. He spent hours going through the mementos of Kelly's childhood that he kept in his basement. He needed to feel that closeness to his own little girl to move past this case that continued to haunt him. It took most of the afternoon, but Gibbs was finally able to put the case into perspective and think rationally. He finally admitted to himself that they had done everything possible. Rarely did he second guess his actions during a case, but now...going over everything that he'd done, everything Vance had said to him, everything that Ducky had said to him...God, how could he have been so self righteous about it all. And to Tim of all people? The man can barely tell a lie. He worked hard, Gibbs knew how hard McGee worked. Rarely did he tell the younger man, but he knew. How could he have let himself get that far out of control? He let his emotions overwhelm him and turn to anger. And Tim took the brunt of his outburst. How did he make this right?

Knowing that he wouldn't see McGee for a week, Gibbs tried calling him. He needed to speak with Tim, break the ice and let him know that things were said in the heat of the moment. But the call went straight to voice mail. He was a little surprised that McGee's phone was turned off. Gibbs called Tony knowing that he had ground to make up with his Senior Agent as well.

"Boss? Everything OK?" Surprise could be heard in Tony's voice as he answered the call.

"DiNozzo, I..."

"Boss, do you need help?...What's wrong?" Gibbs didn't call for no reason and Tony was starting to worry.

"Have you talked to McGee, Tony?" Gibbs didn't know how to start this conversation as he ran his hand through his silver hair in frustration.

Tony hesitated, not sure of where this phone call was headed, "Ziva and I have been trying to reach him since Wednesday, but we haven't spoken to him. Why do you ask, Boss?"

"Neither of you have talked to him?"

"It's not like we haven't been trying, Gibbs. We've left messages everyday, more than once a day. He's not returning our calls, Boss. We're both worried about him."

"I...I tried calling him today, it went straight to voice mail. If you talk to him, will you let him know I want to talk?" Gibbs was feeling guilty that his actions were causing such deep repercussions throughout his team.

"Sure, of course, Boss. If...if he asks why, what should I tell him?...You know where that brain of his is going to go...hell, Ziva and I both have wondered..."

Gibbs hung his head as he tried to come up with an answer. "I need to fix this Tony and I don't know how. I was wrong." Gibbs voice was soft and Tony almost didn't believe what he'd heard was really spoken.

"Wow...I mean...what made you change your mind...if I can ask"

"Duck gave me a long talking to, he finally got through my thick skull." Gibbs started up the stairs in need of a fresh cup of coffee.

Walking to a window to watch the rain, Tony had a small smile on his face. "Leave it to Ducky to set us all straight. You can start building bridges tomorrow Boss. Ziva and I will do anything to keep the team together, you know that Boss."

Stopping at the kitchen counter and looking out the window to the rain, Gibbs shook his head. "I won't be there tomorrow. Remember, I'm assigned to FLETC for the week."

"Oh, right. I guess I forgot about that. What are you going to do, Boss?"

"Not much I can do DiNozzo. Let him know I want to talk, will ya?" Gibbs was all talked out for now.

"Sure Boss..." but before he could finish his sentence, Tony heard the dial tone.

NCIS~~

While Tim lay unconscious on the floor, Well put together a box to send to Gibbs at the NCIS offices. If the man doesn't read email, he must open packages sent directly to him. He'd be too curious not to open it. Wells went through Tim's wallet trying to decide what to include in the package. Closing up the package that included Tim's jacket with blood spatters, his driver's license, shoes and socks and hair he'd just yanked out of Tim's head, Wells carefully addressed the package to Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs C/O NCIS

NCIS~~

"Julia, I'm worried about Tim. He hasn't returned our calls. That's just not like him." Olivia stroked Jethro's head as he rested near her feet.

"I'm worried too, Olivia. I think that we should go to NCIS headquarters in the morning if we don't hear from Tim tonight. It could be as simple as Tim's phone not working and he didn't get our messages. He would be worried sick about where Jethro is, they must have been out for a walk. Jethro still had his leash on his collar. There would be no reason for Tim to call us looking for Jethro. Who would have thought the dear dog would come to us? But I'm worried about Tim. Something just doesn't feel right."

Julia returned to her own chair next to her sister. Reaching down between their chairs, Julia started to stroke the German Shepard along with her sister. The normally happy canine looked at the ladies with a sorrowful expression as he lay missing his master's touch.

NCIS~~

"_SHUT UP! I SAID SHUT UP, NOW GO TO YOUR ROOM! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING MORE FROM YOU!"_ Tim's expression changed to one of pain. He was back in his parents house the day Sarah had been taken right from their own yard. "I'm sorry Mom, really, I tried. Really I did. Please Mom." Wells could hear Tim talking, slurring his words. He heard Tim say "Mom". Shaking his head, Wells figured he must be calling for his mom to help him. He could see Tim was starting to come around. The first thing Tim saw when he opened his eyes was Wells face staring down at him.

"Well, well. I see you have decided to wake up. But you know, your mom can't help you now." Wells laughed as he walked towards the table. Tim blinked trying to clear his vision and gasped as he tried to roll. Sharp, stabbing pain from his ribs made it impossible to take a deep breath. He pushed through the pain and shakily rose to his feet. As he took his first wobbly step, he looked at his feet, wondering when he lost his shoes... Wells turned when he realized Tim was on his feet. "And just where do you think you're going?"

Tim could barely stay upright, but he didn't want to give Wells the satisfaction of watching him fall. Speaking in a raspy voice barely loud enough to be heard, Tim said to Wells, "I'm of no use to you. I told you Gibbs would not come for me. He doesn't read his email, you're waiting for nothing." Tim drew in a shaky breath and tried to stand up straight but his battered body wanted to curl into itself.

"Don't worry about that, I've corrected my mistake on that point. Gibbs will have all the information he needs soon enough. We still have some time together. There are still many things you and I can do today." Wells paused when he saw Tim shaking his head so violently that he almost fell over.

"You don't get it. You won't get Gibbs here because of me. Just give up this scheme of yours." Tim was barely able to whisper out the words.

"Once a Marine, always a Marine. Gibbs won't go against the code and leave a man behind. Unless you are admitting you really aren't a field agent. You're just a wannabe?" Trying to provoke Tim, Wells continued, "Now that is one thing we can't stand, I could understand why Gibbs would kick you off his team." Wells was pacing back and forth in front of Tim, gauging his reaction as he continued to provoke him. "You really are too slow, your work isn't ever good enough to be a real agent. You're one of those computer guys that only does the work behind the scenes, aren't you? I thought you were a bit soft to be on Gibbs team." He was watching Tim and could see the anger of his response building. "I will admit, you surprised a little but everybody gets lucky once in a while. I had wanted to see how well Gibbs trained his men now. I guess he didn't find you worthy of training."

It was the snide laughter that pushed Tim over the edge. With what little strength he had, Tim lunged at Wells striking him in the face. Wells had been watching for Tim to make a move but was still caught slightly off-guard. But Wells recovered quickly and caught Tim by the arm and spun him away. "It's nice to finally get some reaction out of you, McGee!" Tim lost his balance and tripped. He fell head first over the stool and landed on his neck and left shoulder with a sickening crack. Tim screamed in pain as his collarbone broke in such a way the bone had pierced the skin and was exposed. The pain was overwhelming and his left arm was now useless. Lightning cracked so loudly that it could be heard inside the abandaned warehouse. Fifteen seconds later the harsh thunder was accompanied by the sound of agony.

A/N—a collarbone can actually break this way, my daughter did it! Most collarbone breaks are not repaired by surgery and can't be set in a cast. However, a severe break where the bone will not mend on it's own does require surgery. My daughter has a 3inch titanium plate with 8 screws in her shoulder. The scar is quite a conversation starter!


	11. Chapter 11

A/N Thanks for continuing to read this little story. I appreciate all the comments.

The usual disclaimer-I own nothing...

Chapter 11

Tim was having trouble breathing, he tried to breathe through the pain but it was unrelenting. He couldn't move his left arm, every part of his body felt on fire. He laid as still as he possibly could so as to not increase the level of pain. Wells was surprised as he walked around the stool to find Tim lying on the floor with an exposed bone at his shoulder. "You are making things difficult, McGee. Did you always manage to make things difficult for Gibbs, too?"

NCIS~~

Sarah was having trouble studying. She was getting tired of all the rain, it was depressing. Her thoughts kept wandering, mostly to Tim. She had a strong feeling that something was wrong. Tim rarely stayed so mad at her that he wouldn't speak to her. Missing lunch certainly didn't warrant this level of avoidance. No, something was going on with her brother. She didn't have an early class in the morning. If he didn't answer her tonight, she'd go to NCIS and find out what was wrong. He might get mad at her showing up at work, but she'd pull out the little sister card if she had to. Sarah gave up on trying to study and laid on her bed instead. She closed her eyes and listened to the raging sound of thunder.

NCIS~~

Gibbs had trouble concentrating. He was trying to go through the section of the FLETC training manual that he would be working with this week. He knew he deserved the punishment but he didn't have to like it. After a couple of hours of rereading the same sections he tossed the book away on the kitchen table. Rising to get another cup of coffee, he stared out the window watching it rain. His thoughts wandered to McGee and how to fix this mess he'd created. He was certain Duck would help him figure it out and he knew he was going to need all the help he could get. It felt like it had been raining forever but never washing things clean so that they could begin again.

NCIS~~

Tim never lost consciousness but retreated inside to try to control the pain. He didn't notice when Wells had carried him into another room. Wells thought Tim had passed out and moved him into the freezer unit. The temperature was at 50degrees, not down at the freezer level, yet. He had wanted to go from a heat setting to a frigid setting for survival training but he'd allowed himself to be soft on the man. He had let Tim rest half the day since he hadn't done well with heat and sand. Now, it was late and the man was even further injured. There probably wouldn't be much, if any, training left but he would make sure to leave a lasting impression on the younger man.

Wells closed the freezer unit and went to gather up the box he'd packaged up to be delivered to Gibbs. He had contacted a courier service earlier in the day, he just had to drop off the package with instructions. He needed to hurry, they wouldn't stay open much longer since it was Sunday. Wells made sure to put on a hat and glasses. He wore gloves and a nondescript jacket when he walked into the courier office. Having set up his delivery for Monday morning, Wells decided to treat himself to dinner. Tim wasn't going anywhere.

After driving through a torrential downpour on the way back to the warehouse, Wells figured it was too late to get anything accomplished tonight. He opened the freezer unit to find that Tim had moved. He was no longer lying in the center of the room but had somehow moved to the closest wall to the door and was curled into himself. There was some cardboard layers underneath his prone body to give a little insulation from the cold concrete floor. Wells was pleasantly surprised that the younger man had taken some initiative. Looking closely at the man on the floor he couldn't tell if he was asleep or if he'd passed out. Regardless, Wells set about to ready the room.

The large freezer unit had pallet racks running the length of the room on both sides. The room was big enough to run a fork lift down the center isle to access racks on either side. At one end of the room, the racks were not as tall and a hand jack was sufficient to reach the top of the rack. There were two beams that ran from one side of the unit to the other side between these shorter racks. It was there that Wells was setting up. There was an electric chain hoist attached to the beams. Using the switching controller, Wells lowered the locking hook to the ground to make it easily accessible. He made sure he had a locking carabiner, a shorter piece of rope available and duct tape ready to go.

Walking back to where Tim lay on the floor, he removed his own jacket. Looking at the exposed bone of Tim's collarbone, Wells opted to drag Tim by wrapping his arms underneath Tim's. Tying a bowline knot around Tim's right wrist he secured it by wrapping duct tape around the wrist to ensure no slippage. Next, he tied a figure 8 double loop knot to be attached to the locking carabiner. The carabiner was locked in place to the hook from the chain hoist. Satisfied that both knots were secure, he used the switching controller to begin to raise the hook back up towards the hoist and beam. Going slow as he raised the hook, Wells checked the knot at Tim's wrist. Finding no slippage as tension was applied, he continued to raise the hook, Tim being raised with it. Wells stopped the hoist when Tim was suspended just off the ground by about two feet. Tim's right wrist, arm and shoulder was bearing all of his weight. The strain on his collarbone from his right side pulled on his left side so much so that even unconscious, Tim moaned in pain.

"I know you made a nice cardboard bed by the door, but I think you'll be more comfortable here away from the door. Less traffic over here. See you in the morning, McGee. Wells turned off the lights to the freezer unit making the room pitch black.

NCIS~~

Jeff Blanchard carried his six foot two inch frame with confidence as he knocked on the door to Director Vance's office at 0630 looking forward to a productive week ahead. "Morning Blanchard. Did McGee give you an answer last week regarding working with your team this week?" Leon Vance glanced up from skimming through messages and email as Blanchard took a chair across from the Director.

"Yes, he did. My team and I had dinner with McGee last Thursday. We thought it would be a good idea to give him a chance to get to know us better outside the office. See what it's like to work with a team that gels inside the office and outside." Blanchard was feeling very confident that he and his team could lure McGee to join them on a permanent basis.

"Good idea. Just how did that go with McGee and your team?" Vance was concerned about Tim's return to the office this week and was hopeful that working with Blanchard would ease the younger agents anxiety of returning to the Yard.

Blanchard smiled as he replied, "We had a good time. Dinner, some drinks, pool and darts. He's pretty good at darts, I'll warn you! It was a comfortable evening and we were all impressed with him. He and Ramsey hit it off immediately. The two of them together will be a force to contend with. Friday, the guys were still talking about our outing with Tim. I think they're hoping to test drive his car. We're all hoping he went away with the same good vibe that we did."

Vance nodded in response, pleased that Blanchard's team had made the extra effort with McGee. "Have you spoken with McGee since then? He's usually on the Yard early, he should be here soon. You need to know he's been extremely loyal to Gibbs. Last week's episode may have killed that altogether, but just be prepared. I don't want to see McGee walk away from this agency. I recognize his talent even if Gibbs doesn't want to admit to it right now."

"I didn't want to push Tim, so I didn't try to contact him after Thursday. He told me he'd be in the office by 0700 this morning and we could start integrating him into our current case." Blanchard replied while looking at his watch. "I would expect him any time now. Gibbs being out of the office this week should ease any tension. I'm not sure about DiNozzo or David, though. Scuttlebutt says they don't agree with Gibbs but how far they would go against Gibbs is hard to judge."

"What's your current case? What do you have planned for McGee to start with? I want to be kept in the loop as far as McGee is concerned this week...understood?" Vance gave Blanchard a hard stare.

"We're still working on that Pentagon embezzling case and we can use Tim's talents on this one, that's for sure."

"You mean his hacking skills?" Vances eyebrows almost disappeared with a knowing look.

"Well,...he is pretty talented at finding what others can't see. I'll make sure you're kept up to speed as to how he's doing and overall reaction from everyone to his being back. I won't tolerate anyone's negative comments or attacks on my agents." The team leader's protective side was easily seen in his posture.

Vance had a small smile on his face. Looking Blanchard in the eye, he asked, "You already consider McGee as one of yours, don't you?"

"Yes sir, I do. We all do. I think McGee will see that mine is the right team for him. I value the strengths of my men and recognize their weaknesses. I know Gibbs had a strong team, but his style and mine are quite a bit different. Tim will see that very quickly. I'm not going to coddle him, I expect the best work out of my guys. But I don't expect to be disappointed either. I've seen the work he's done for Gibbs. I want him on my team...permanently." Having stated his case, Blanchard rose to leave.

"When you find time this morning, send McGee up to see me. I want to check in with him personally. The box with his desk things is there on the table, you might as well take that down now. I have a feeling you're going to put him to work when he walks in." Blanchard nodded at the dismissal and grabbed the box on his way out of the Director's office. Both men turned towards the window as lightning cracked close by and thunder shook the building.

NCIS~~

Ziva was still shaking her umbrella as she stepped off the elevator at 0715 heading straight for Tony's desk. "Tony, have you seen McGee yet this morning?" Tony had watched as Ziva approached eying the coffee cups in her hands. Nodding his thanks as she offered one to him, he looked around the squad room before answering. "No, I haven't. I checked at the front gate, he hasn't passed through yet. He's not technically late, but Blanchard has already been around asking if I've seen him. I guess that confirms the rumors that McGee is assigned to Blanchard's team."

Ziva turned to her own desk, setting her backpack down behind her chair. "Just a temporary assignment. Gibbs will realize he needs to fix this and McGee will be back with us soon." Ziva started to boot her computer and read through messages on her desk.

"He already has, Ziva. Gibbs called me yesterday." Tony wasn't able to continue his conversation with Ziva as Director Vance walked into the bullpen at that moment.

"David, DiNozzo. While Gibbs is an instructor at FLETC this week, I'm having the two of you work cold cases. If other teams need help with current cases, I may have you assist." Vance was about to walk away when Tony stood up.

"Director, what about McGee? Is he going to work cold cases with us while Gibbs is gone? We haven't been able to talk to him." Tony walked around his desk to stand next to Ziva's desk. They both wanted to know the official word as to what was happening with their teammate.

"McGee is assigned to Blanchard's team. I'm sure he's just settling in with the team, you can speak with him later." Vance started to walk away but Tony stopped him again.

"No, McGee isn't in yet. I called the gate, he's not passed through yet. Director, is this a permanent assignment for McGee?" Tony's voice and posture communicated the concern he felt over the issue.

"We'll discuss this when Gibbs gets back, DiNozzo. For right now, just concentrate on your cold cases." Director Vance left the bullpen and headed towards Blanchard's team. He frowned as he thought of McGee being late his first day with a new team, that wasn't like him.

NCIS~~

Tony had filled Ziva in on his phone call from Gibbs. They tried to concentrate on cold cases but they were having no success. Instead, their discussions had turned to how to help fix the rift in the team that Gibbs had created. Knowing what a rarity it was for Gibbs to admit that he was wrong, they wanted to do anything and everything they could. They came to the conclusion that Ducky's help would be needed on this one.

After Vance had told them McGee's team assignment would be discussed next week, there seemed to be a lot of activity with Blanchard and Vance. Blanchard's two team members Bill Ramsey and Paul Harris were seen on the phones, in and out of the building; they seemed concerned. Tony watched as the Director descended the stairs with Blanchard close on his heals. Keeping his voice low, he murmured to Ziva, "Any idea of what's up?" Ziva turned as Vance stepped off the bottom of the stairs and continued in their direction.

"DiNozzo, has McGee called either one of you this morning?" Clearly irritated, Vance waited for an answer with a scowl.

"No, you said he was assigned to Blanchard this week. We haven't seen him yet this morning."

Ziva stepped around her desk to ask Vance, "Director, is there a problem? Has McGee not arrived yet?"

"No, he's not here and he's not answering his land line at home."

"That is not like McGee, he is always early. Perhaps he is having car trouble in this storm? Have you tried his cell phone?" Ziva tried not to sound worried but the fact that she had not spoken to Tim since last Wednesday had been weighing heavily on her mind.

"McGee told me Thursday that he'd lost his cell phone. I expected him to let me know that he'd gotten a new one but I've not heard from him. I just assumed he would let me know this morning. I've asked Metro to stop by his home to see if he is there...waiting for a call back." Vance was chewing vigorously on a toothpick.

"Well, Ziva, that answers why he hasn't answered any of our calls since last week. I was going to give him crap for ignoring me all weekend. So the last time he'd been heard from is last Thursday morning when he was here?" Tony was starting to become very concerned.

"No, Tim had dinner with us Thursday evening. But we haven't had contact with him since then either."

Blanchard walked from Tony's desk to stand in front of Ramsey, "Bill, put a BOLO out on Tim's car. Let's see if that turns anything up."

"We can find McGee, he's our teammate, we know him." Tony took offense at Jeff Blanchard's assumption that he and his team would take the lead on finding Tim. "McLate probably got used to staying up all night playing Elf Lord during those extra days he had off and overslept this morning. His mutt will wake him up if the dog walker doesn't." Tony was trying to shake off his nagging feeling with his usual humor.

"Do you always disrespect you teammates, DiNozzo?" Vance stepped inside Tony's personal space staring him in the eye.

Taken aback, Tony stood his ground as he replied to the Director, "No, I don't. Tim knows my McNicknames are my way of showing him I care."

"Care about what, DiNozzo? Sounds like a put down to me." Before Tony could respond, Vance's cell phone rang. "Director Vance...yes...did your officers check with his neighbors?...was there any indication of a dog inside the apartment?...yes, thank-you Captain, I appreciate your help." Turning to face the group, "That was Captain Beel with Metro. He had two patrol officers stop at McGee's apartment. No answer at the door. The one neighbor that was home said she hadn't seen McGee since last week but said that wasn't unusual. No sound of a dog inside and they checked the parking lot, no sign of his car." Rubbing his face in frustration, Vance had the feeling something was terribly wrong.

Thunder continued to shake the building as if the storm was right on top of them.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Disclaimer, CBS owns NCIS, United Artists owns the movie Rocky, I own nothing.

Chapter 12

"Good morning, McGee! Sleep well? I love sleeping in a crisp, cool room, don't you?"

Wells spoke loudly and nudged Tim's left arm with his shoulder as he walked around Tim's suspended body. Making sure he had Tim's attention, he continued. "It's getting nice and frosty in here now, don't you think? You shouldn't have taken off your jacket in the heat. A soldier always needs to be prepared for changing weather. You take your jacket off, you keep it with you, not throw it away. I'll bet you wish you had that jacket now, don't you?" Wells rubbed his hands together to warm them as he let out a sarcastic laugh. "Guess I'm the one doing all the laughing now, aren't I? You've been slow to learn anything I've tried to teach you. I thought you would be a quick study, but maybe you are right on one thing. Gibbs doesn't have anything to rescue, he has no MAN left behind. I did send him a new lead, we'll see what he does with it, shall we?"

Tim was conscious only to the point of being able to see and hear the things around him. He wasn't even sure he could speak, but he tried. "go...to...hell" Tim's voice was barely above a whisper, hoarse and raw. If Wells hadn't been standing next to him, he wouldn't have heard him.

"A good soldier knows not to provoke his superiors. You just like to keep pushing buttons, don't you McGee?" Wells voice was strained and his eyes flared in anger. Wells walked around Tim brushing him occasionally making him sway from the hoist from which he was hung. "I love the movie "Rocky" don't you? My favorite scene is when Rocky is training in the meat locker. Something I always wanted to try but never had the opportunity. Remember when Paulie tells him he's hitting too hard, that he's breaking the ribs?" Wells threw a hard punch that landed squarely on Tim's ribcage. Tim moaned in pain, unable to move away from the onslaught. Wells continued to assault the same area of Tim's torso. Tim threw his head back as he screamed when he felt ribs finally break. "Yeah, pretty satisfying." Wells was smiling as he nodded his head. "I have some things to take care of today, but I think you'll be fine on your own. Keep an eye on the place for me, will ya!" Wells was laughing as he left the freezer unit and closed the door with a locking click. Tim was trying to catch his breath but it was almost impossible to breathe. His ribs hurt with each breath causing stabbing pains and what oxygen he could take in was so cold it hurt. His hands and feet were numb from the cold, pain surrounded his every thought.

NCIS~~

Julia and Olivia took a cab from their home to the Navy Yard in hopes of seeing Tim. They had been very concerned that Tim hadn't returned any of their messages. Traffic was moving slow this morning due to the heavy rains. Their usual driver hadn't been available this morning, but they knew the young man driving them today and felt safe with him. Tim had checked out the cab company they use and the drivers. He had made arrangements with the manager and dispatchers to allow only a few selected drivers to pick up the fares for the ladies. Tim didn't want to see either sister harmed in any way and letting the cab company know that the ladies had a Federal Agent looking out for them didn't hurt. Checking in at the gate and then pulling up to NCIS, the sisters were worried that Tim would be upset with them for coming to his workplace. But they were more worried about his well being than his possible displeasure at their arrival.

Blanchard's team had issued a BOLO on Tim's car and was making phone calls. They went through his Rolodex even though they knew it wouldn't be complete. Tim would have his contacts stored in his phone and on his computer. Vance had pulled his personnel record and given them his contact information from his file.

"Tony, we cannot just sit here and do nothing to find McGee." Ziva was gesturing wildly as she sat behind her computer pretending to work through a cold case. "We must do something. Do you have his sister Sarah's phone number?"

"No Ziva, I do not have McGee's sisters phone number. Do you honestly think he'd let me have his baby sister's number? " Tony hissed his reply. He was feeling as frustrated as Ziva that another team was laying claim to his Probie.

Vance and Blanchard were discussing possibilities as Ramsey was going through Tim's personal belongings looking for any clues. Harris was still making phone calls but coming up empty.

Julia and Olivia made it inside the NCIS building relatively dry. Their cab driver had helped them out of the cab and walked them to the door with an umbrella. Having signed into the front desk with whom they wished to see and given visitor passes, the sisters were escorted upstairs by Security. Finding the Director staring him down as though he were accompanied by felons from the most wanted wall, the security guard presented the ladies to the Director. "Sir, these ladies are here to see Agent McGee."

"I'm Director Vance. I'm afraid Agent McGee isn't available. Is this something that another agent can help you with ladies?" Trying not to appear too anxious to be rid of the sisters, he smiled and waited.

"Oh dear, Tim isn't here? We've been trying to reach him for days." Olivia shared worried glances with Julia.

"Tim…you know Agent McGee, ma'am?" Blanchard stepped up beside the Director to address the ladies. "How long have you been trying to reach Tim?"

Julia took Olivia's hand as her sister was becoming visibly upset. "We've been trying to get in touch with Tim since Friday. We're terribly worried about him. It's not like him not to return our calls. With Jethro's injuries, we've been concerned that Tim was hurt."

Julia's comments had brought the other agents to stand behind the Director as well.

"I'm sorry ladies, we're forgetting our manners. I'm Leon Vance, NCIS Director, these are Special Agents Jeff Blanchard, Bill Ramsey, Paul Harris, Ziva David and Tony DiNozzo. May I ask your names please?" Vance was trying to be cordial, he had a feeling the ladies may have some information as to McGee's whereabouts.

"Excuse me, I am Julia Marconi and this is my sister Olivia Hammond."

"Why don't we take this to one of our conference rooms. You would be much more comfortable and able to sit while we talk about at Agent McGee." Vance was trying to be sensitive to the ladies needs as he could see Olivia was not entirely stable on her feet. "Ladies, if you'll come with me to the elevator, we'll ride up to the conference room. Agent David, would you accompany us please? Blanchard, have everyone meet in Conference room B."

As the group settled around the table, Vance offered Julia and Olivia coffee which they gratefully accepted. "Miss Marconi, would you mind telling us why you and your sister were trying to get in touch with Agent McGee?" Julia and Olivia shared a sad smile as Julia began to tell the agents about finding Jethro on their doorstep, bloody and hurt. She explained that they had taken Jethro to the vet after they had not been able to reach Tim. They had continued trying to call Tim with no luck. "That's when I called here, Director. I believe I spoke with you, Agent DiNozzo."

Five collective heads turned towards Tony in surprise. "DiNozzo, outside, NOW." Vance stood and turned to the sisters, "Ladies, if you will excuse us for a minute." Julia and Olivia looked at each other with udder confusion.

"DiNozzo, you got a call from these ladies last Friday about McGee? Why didn't you do anything about it?" Tony could hear how disgusted Vance was by the tone of his voice.

"I thought they were a pair of sisters he was dating….you know…..you should have heard the conversation. She didn't mention his dog to me. How was I to know from what she said? Ziva, you heard my end of the phone call. Gibbs thought I was jealous of McGee's date." Tony tried to defend himself.

"Gibbs? Gibbs heard this phone call?" Vance was shaking his head. "Just what did Gibbs hear?"

"He heard my end of the call and then I..." "You what, DiNozzo?" "I sort of recapped what I thought the call meant, how the sisters do everything together, they'd been to the doctor and thankful is was only deep bruising and cuts around the collar, they wanted to make sure Tim wasn't hurt and he got upset when they didn't follow his instructions."

"She said they told you they were concerned about McGee, wanted to be sure he wasn't hurt. These things didn't raise any red flags for you?" Vance couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Well…..honestly….no, I thought it was…."

"What DiNozzo, just what did you think about your teammate? I really want to know." Blanchard practically yelled the question at Tony.

"The whole conversation had a sexual tone to it, sisters and all. I was a little proud of my Probie actually getting…."

Shaking his head in disgust, eyes slammed shut, "That's where your mind went! The conversation you had with that older woman about McGee made you go there?" Blanchard had to turn away from Tony.

"She didn't sound like a little old lady on the phone, she had this whole sultry sexy voice…."

"You mean like her normal tone that we all heard?" Vance didn't think it could get any more disturbing.

"Well…. yeah, for an older woman, she's still got a great voice…." Tony was more than just a little embarrassed.

"When she said her name was Julia and her sister was Olivia, that didn't trip you to the ladies in his neighborhood? God, I wish we'd gotten that call." Ramsey was walking around in circles disgusted with Tim's old teammate.

"Why….how would you know who they are?" Tony wanted to know.

"He told some of the most hilarious stories about the sisters at dinner last week. How could you not put the two together." Harris couldn't believe where this whole conversation had gone.

"He has never told us anything about these ladies. Why would that be if he has some entertaining tales to tell? Would he not want to share that with us?" Ziva asked while looking from Harris to Tony.

"Maybe because he knew DiNozzo would make fun of him for trying to be nice and look after the ladies." Harris looked at Tony as he answered Ziva. Blanchard just ran his hand through his hair as he paced.

"Yeah DiNozzo...Tim said just that when I asked if you guys rolled on the floor laughing as much as we did. He said he never mentioned the sisters because he knew he would just get grief for it or some reference to that being the only age group he could date." Ramsey was looking Tony right in the eye as he replied, daring him to deny the words.

Tony turned away from the group so they couldn't see the shame in his eyes. Tim knew his teasing was in fun didn't he?

Vance took over the conversation, "As much as I may enjoy seeing DiNozzo squirm on this one, we're not getting anywhere as to when McGee went missing or where he may be now. We know McGee was accounted for Thursday night for dinner with Blanchard's team. The sisters said they found McGee's dog at their doorstep Friday morning. DiNozzo, you said Palmer mentioned that McGee was supposed to spend Friday with his sister. Do we know if he saw his sister?"

"Her number was in the list of contacts from his personnel file that you gave me earlier but we haven't been able to reach her. She's a college student, right? She may be in class." Blanchard offered. "Do we know where she's going to school?"

Ziva glanced Tony to see if he would answer, but he had still not turned to completely face the group. "Yes, she attends Waverly. Tony and I have met her but we do not have her phone number." Ziva could tell by Tony's expression that he was taking this badly. He quietly walked away from the group wondering what he could do to make things up to his friend.

"Paul, call over to Waverly and get his sister's class schedule. Ziva, what is his sister's name?"

"Sarah….Sarah McGee."

"Paul, Sarah McGee, find out where she would be this morning. We need to know if she saw Tim on Friday. If so, what time and if she knew what he was doing after that." Blanchard was spitting out instructions as his agent moved off to start his search for Sarah McGee.

NCIS~~

Sarah paid the cab driver as he dropped her at the gate of the Navy Yard. She dashed through the rain to the walk-in gate and ran to the NCIS building. Her umbrella was almost useless in this downpour. Shaking off as she signed in at the desk, she informed the guard that she was there to see her brother. As she was escorted upstairs, two other guards chuckled to themselves as they commented "The Director will have McGee's hide that he's had so many visitors today! And he's not even here yet!" "Yeah, good thing Gibbs isn't here!"

Walking into an empty bullpen, Sarah and her escort looked for signs of the MCRT. Instead of Tony or Ziva, they found Abby exiting the back elevator headed their way. "Hey, Sarah…right? McGee's sister?"

"Yes, I'm Sarah McGee."

"Hi, I'm Abby. We met once, when you were….well... when we cleared you of that murder charge." Abby looked around the bullpen for the first time and realized it was empty. "Hey, where is everybody? Did they get a call out?" Walking around the desks she stopped at Tim's desk. "Why is McGee's desk empty?" Turning around to Gibbs desk, "No coffee cup in the trash, why hasn't Gibbs been at his desk today?" Abby was now walking from desk to desk. "Tony is here and so is Ziva. Their backpacks are still here so they're not out on a call." Whipping around again Abby exclaimed, "Where is everyone?"

Sarah was a little taken aback by the quick talking Goth. She remembered stories Tim had told her about Abby. He had once told her that when Abby got on a roll, don't even try to interrupt. She could see why he said that. The guard next to Sarah had tried to interrupt several times but just gave up.

Just as Abby had finished, Tony started bounding down the stairs. "TONY!" Abby was bouncing on her toes as Tony made it to the bottom of the stairs and gave him a bone crushing hug. "Where is everybody Tony? I need to catch up on hugs. I missed everybody! Where's Gibbs, his desk is too neat. And why is McGee's desk cleaned out? Tony what's going on? Has something happened? Why didn't anyone call me…" "Abs…" "….you know you're supposed to call me…."

"Abs…." "….is Gibbs alright? He didn't get hurt did he? I'll kill you if he got hurt and no one called me…." "**ABBY**!" Abby stopped and looked at Tony like he had two heads.

Tony looked at Sarah and asked, "Sarah, right? We met once before, it's been a while. I'm Tony. We've been trying to reach you this morning."

Abby's eyes went wild, "Tony! McGee?…..McGee! What's happened to McGee? I go away for a week and I come back and everything is wrong. Tony, what's happened to McGee? Is he hurt? But why is his desk cleared? Why didn't you…"

"**ABBY**!" Turning back towards Sarah, Tony calmed his voice again as he spoke to the guard. "I'll take Miss McGee with me now, thanks." "Sarah, can you come with me please? Director Vance would like to see you."

Sarah stood rooted to the floor as Tony tried to steer her towards the elevator. "Why does the Director want to see me? Where's Tim? I knew something was wrong. Where is my brother?" Her voice was shaking as her thoughts ran wild. She had felt something was wrong with Tim ever since he came to see her in the middle of the afternoon last week.

"TONY! What's going on? What aren't you telling me?" Abby was desperately trying to get Tony's attention.

"Abby, I need to take Sarah upstairs to the conference room. Vance and Blanchard….you can come but I won't guarantee they'll let you in." Tony was getting frustrated with his Goth as he once again tried to lead Sarah to the elevator. Sarah let Tony take the lead, she wasn't really registering where they were going, her feet just moving automatically.

Vance and Blanchard were still outside the conference room when Tony came down the hall with Sarah McGee, Abby on his heels. Surprised, Vance looked at Tony and then the young woman he was escorting. "DiNozzo?"

"Director, I'd like you to meet Sarah McGee, Tim's sister. Sarah, this is Director Vance and Special Agent Jeff Blanchard." Tony nodded at each man as he introduced them to Sarah.

"DiNozzo, how did you find Miss McGee so quickly?"

"I didn't find her, Director. Sarah came to us. I think she had just arrived downstairs." Looking at Sarah for confirmation, Tony saw her nod her head.

Smiling at Sarah, Vance gestured to the conference room "Would you please come inside Miss McGee?" The group started to enter the room as Vance stopped and turned to Abby. "Miss Scuito, it's nice to have you back. I believe you'll find there are several items waiting for you in your lab. If you'll excuse us." Vance closed the door behind him before Abby could enter the conference room.

Clearly upset at not being included in the meeting with Sarah, Abby pouted as she slowly walked away. She wasn't used to being shut out, Gibbs never shut her out. She decided that her only course of action right now was to see Ducky.

Entering the conference room Sarah was a little more than scared. Looking around the room she finally found two friendly faces. Quickly moving to their side of the table, Sarah quietly sobbed, "Miss Olivia….Miss Julia…..what's going on? Where is Tim? He hasn't returned any of my calls."

Both women had their arms outstretched to bring Sarah into a hug. She leaned down between the two ladies as they wrapped her in a comforting embrace. "We don't really know dear. I think that's what we're all trying to figure out. " Olivia took Sarah's hand as she guided her into the chair she vacated so that Sarah would be between the sisters. They both helped settle the young woman by making sure she had constant contact.

"Obviously, the three of you know each other. Sarah, I am Ziva David. Your brother is my teammate….and friend." Tony took the chair next to Ziva and made the introductions to Ramsey and Harris.

Vance sat at the head of the table. "Miss McGee, you told Agent DiNozzo that you felt something was wrong with your brother. Can you explain that us please?"

Sarah nervously looked around the room at all the expectant faces staring at her. Julia gave her an encouraging nod while Olivia stroked her hand to calm her. "I knew something was going on with Tim last Wednesday. He stopped by my dorm in the middle of the afternoon when he should have been here. He was soaked to the bone."

Tony interrupted to ask, "Did he say why he stopped to see you, Sarah?"

"I asked him why he was there, I guess I looked annoyed that he'd shown up without calling. He said he'd had a crappy day and just wanted a smile from his baby sister." Sarah's voice broke but she continued. "He was checking on me like he always does, making sure I didn't need anything, that I was alright. I couldn't find any of his sweat clothes that I'd borrowed so that he could put on dry clothes but he said he was going home to change anyway."

Blanchard was taking notes and looked up at Sarah as he asked, "Have you seen him since then? Spoken with him at all?"

"We emailed back and forth Wednesday night. I was worried about him catching a cold. Thursday I tried to call but he never picked up. He emailed me later that he'd lost his phone. We'd made plans to have lunch on Friday. I hoped to spend the afternoon with him to try to get him to talk." Sarah's eyes glistened with unshed tears.

Seeing Sarah's pain, Ziva spoke softly, "Sarah, did he meet you for lunch on Friday? Did he say what he had planned for the weekend?"

Sarah's mouth quivered as she spoke,"We didn't have lunch on Friday. It was my fault. He had emailed me early that morning and we set up a time for lunch. I was supposed to meet him at 11:30 at my favorite deli. He reminded me that I wouldn't be able to reach him once he left his apartment, he still hadn't found his phone. I stayed after class for a discussion and I was almost an hour and a half late getting to the deli. He wasn't there when I got there." She had to stop, a small sob had escaped as she whispered "I should have met him." Olivia had Sarah in her arms as Julie rubbed small circles on the young woman's back.

"Sarah, have you heard from your brother since that email Friday morning?" Ziva was pretty confident of the answer but had to ask the question.

Sarah looked up from Olivia's embrace, "No. I've tried all weekend to reach him. I've emailed and left messages on his answering machine. Saturday I went to his apartment to check on him but he wasn't home. I figured he was on a walk with Jethro, they were both gone. I waited for over an hour but had to get back to campus. Why haven't I heard from Tim?" The tears finally made their way down her face.

Blanchard looked from his notes to Vance. "That gives us a time line. Friday morning. No one has heard from Tim since Friday morning."

NCIS~~

A package about the size of a shoe box had been delivered to NCIS by private courier. As with all packages delivered, the box had made its way through the incoming mail procedures of x-ray and inspection. Along with inter-office mail, the inconspicuous box was delivered to the desk of Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs landing quietly in his in-box. The building was anything but quiet as the structure was assaulted by hail. Each blow sounding like it was causing physical pain.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Thanks for continuing to follow this story. I appreciate all of your comments!

Disclaimer: the usual, I own nothing but my imagination

Chapter 13

"Sarah, Julia and I have Jethro. He came to us on Friday. He'd been hurt." Olivia held the young woman's hand. A look of horror filled Sarah's face as the realization of what Olivia had said hit her full force.

"Miss Hammond, you and your sister live near McGee, do you know where he takes Jethro for a walk? You said the leash was still attached to his collar. McGee must have taken the dog out of a walk. If we can figure out where they might have been …." Ziva finished Tony's train of thought, "…then we may be able to find McGee or some trace of what happened Friday morning."

Olivia looked to Julia to answer the question. "Tim and Jethro have several routes around the neighborhood. Tim once said he thought Jethro got bored looking at the same trees and squirrels." Julia had a sad smile as she remembered the day Tim told her that. "Rainy days they usually stick the wooded section of the park where there is a tree canopy for some shelter from the rain."

"Your idea DiNozzo, you and David run with it. Blanchard, have your team go over the hospital lists again, John Does from Friday through this morning. Also check Metro's crime and tips logs since Friday morning. See if anything jumps out that might be related."

"Director, don't you think we need to call Gibbs?" Tony thought he might be pushing his luck but kept going anyway. "I mean, McGee is on Gibbs team."

One eyebrow almost disappearing, Vance gave Tony a sideways glance, "Really? I have my own reasons to call Gibbs, but I want to know why _you_ think I should call Gibbs, DiNozzo."

"I know that Gibbs wants to try to fix this with McGee. He knows things got out of hand last week" Tony glanced at Blanchard and added, "He's not going to let McGee go without a fight."

"We're making Tim part of my team, DiNozzo. We made sure he knew that last week. We'll take care of our own." Harris and Ramsey stepped up to flank Blanchard, nodding in agreement.

"It does not matter what team McGee may be a part of, the point is that he is missing and we must find him." Ziva was irritated at this childish behavior. "Tony, we must go, NOW."

"WAIT! What is going on with my brother? Tim is missing and Jethro was hurt, now I'm hearing something needs to be fixed between my brother and Agent Gibbs? Tim practically idolizes the man, and now he's moving to a different team? WHAT IS GOING ON?" Tears were still streaming down Sarah's face as she yelled at everyone in the room as she leaned against the table for support.

Turning to Sarah, Ziva reached across the table to take her hand. "Sarah, last week there was a particularly difficult case."

"That was when Tim told me he had a bad day?"

"Yes, it did not end as we had wanted. There was a….rather heated one-sided discussion between Gibbs and your brother."

"Agent Gibbs blamed Tim, didn't he? He looked so dejected and guilty but he wouldn't tell me anything. He never mentioned anything, especially not having to move to another team."

Blanchard interrupted, "Sarah, your brother is an excellent Agent. Don't let any of this make you think any differently. There are a lot of teams that _want_ him with them. Mine being one of them." His words sounded genuine.

"But what does any of this have to do with why Tim is missing? I don't understand. I need to know where he is and WHY!"

"Sarah, we do not know the why just yet. But we will do everything possible to find Tim." Ziva squeezed Sarah's hand as she and Tony left to search the park.

NCIS~~

"Ducky...Ducky!" Abby bounded into autopsy looking for their resident Medical Examiner. "Abigail my dear! How nice to see you! Welcome back. I do hope you had an enjoyable week away!" Ducky returned Abby's embrace with welcome arms.

"Ducky, what's going on? I mean, I go away for a week and now Gibbs isn't here when I get back? And Tony is yelling at me and Director Vance won't let me in the conference room where they took McGee's sister. I haven't seen Ziva or McGee and something seems wrong, Ducky! I mean, why..."

"Abigail, my dear. Slow down. Jethro is away this week, he was assigned as a guest instructor at FLETC. He will be back next week, not to worry. Now tell me, what is this about Timothy's sister?" Ducky had tried to calm Abby's fears about Gibbs hoping that would calm the rest of her.

"Sarah, Tim's sister was in the squad room when I got there and then Tony came in and took Sarah upstairs to the conference room with Vance and Blanchard. The Director told me welcome back but go to my lab and then he shut the door. Why did he shut the door Ducky?" Abby had been pacing in short steps wringing her hands.

"My dear, you know that you and I will find out soon enough what was being discussed in that room. Anthony will be along to let us know if something important is going on upstairs." Ducky hoped his explanation would be sufficient while wondering himself what the appearance of Timothy's sister meant.

"But Ducky, it looked serious. Tony wasn't smiling or joking or anything. Sarah said she knew something was wrong with Tim and Tony said that they had been trying to reach her this morning. Ducky! I'm worried!"

"Yes, well Abigail, we won't know what to worry about until Anthony, Ziva or even the Director himself deems it is time to tell us. Why don't we concentrate on having our laboratories ready for when they may need us, shall we? That should keep our minds busy from letting our imaginations run wild, don't you think?" Ducky gently steered Abby towards the doors.

Giving Ducky one more hug Abby looked with sorrowful eyes at her friend, "Thanks Ducky. I'll be ready."

NCIS~~

After hours of searching the wooded park, Tony and Ziva return to their car empty handed. Being wet didn't help their mood. "DAMN IT" Tony hit the steering wheel in frustration.

"We knew this would be a punch in the dark, Tony. It has..." "Shot, Ziva, Shot in the dark" "yes, shot in the dark, but it has been raining every day, any clue would have been washed away almost immediately. It was too much to hope that we would find McGee so easily." Ziva was also frustrated but trying to be logical. "Let us return to NCIS and try to find another avenue to look for McGee."

NCIS~~

"Commander Henry, Leon Vance, NCIS. I need to speak to Agent Gibbs." Vance hadn't wanted to make this phone call but knew it would be necessary.

"I'm sorry Director, Gibbs is in the middle of a tactical training session. If we break the session now, we'll have to start the activity all over again. This would put us behind schedule for the week." Commander Henry had really hoped not to have any of the drama surrounding Gibbs that was often associated with the talented but head-strong, opinionated agent.

"I understand Commander. But one of my agents is missing. One of Gibbs agents. I need to speak with him as soon as possible." Vance's voice rose a bit even as he understood the Commander's hands were tied.

"I'll get a message to the observation group. As soon as they can get Gibbs free, I'll have him call you. Will that do, Director?"

"Thank-you Commander. I appreciate the exception." Vance ended the call hoping that exception came sooner than later.

NCIS~~

Returning to the squad room empty handed was not how Tony had hoped things would have gone. As much as he didn't want Blanchard's team working on finding Tim, he hoped they had better luck than he and Ziva did.

Jeff Blanchard made his way over to Tony and Ziva when he saw them get off the elevator. "Any luck in the park DiNozzo?"

Throwing his back on the floor he turned, "No. Nothing. The rain has washed any trace away. We don't know his actual route through the park. We looked through every wooded, canopied area and came up with nothing. No trace. Anyone we found in the park said they weren't in the park on Friday morning."

"Have you had any luck with the BOLO or crime logs?" Ziva had hoped the other team had something that they could work with.

"We've expanded the BOLO. The radius for all searches has been expanded to a one hundred mile radius. Right now, it's as if he vanished. Nothing on his credit cards or bank records, no evidence of a new cell phone in his name, no sign of his car. We need a break." Blanchard was sounding just as frustrated as they were.

NCIS~~

The afternoon was dragging by slowly with no leads. Looking outside it could be mistaken to be early evening. The low dark clouds and continual rain made for a very gloomy day.

"Tony, answer your phone! It is driving me down the hall,"

"That's 'up the wall', Ziva."

"I do not care, hall or wall, your phone has been ringing nonstop, why are you not carrying your cell phone Tony?"

"DiNozzo"

"What the hell is going on DiNozzo? I haven't even been gone a day and I get pulled from training, told to call the Director who is busy. His assistant tells me to call you and you don't pick up. What have I told you about never being unreachable?" Gibbs was irritated. If he had to do this at FLETC, he wanted to do it right.

"Sorry Boss"

"So what the hell is so important? Not that I mind being pulled out of training, but Vance had me here for a reason."

Hesitantly, Tony told him. "Boss, it's McGee."

"Can't read your mind DiNozzo."

"McGee's missing, Boss. We figure he's be missing since Friday morning."

"How do you figure?" Even though he asked, his gut was telling him they were right.

"He sent an email to his sister Friday morning. McMutt was found later Friday morning with the leash still on his collar and the dog was found hurt by some ladies that McGee knows in his neighborhood. He was supposed to meet his sister for lunch Friday. No one has heard from him or seen him since that email Friday morning."

"So what else is being done?"

"Vance had Metro check by his apartment building, his car is gone. No one remembers seeing him since last week. There's a BOLO out on his car, no activity on his cell phone or any bank accounts, credit cards, debit cards. Nothing unusual in Metro's tip lines or crime logs. No John Does matching his description at any area hospitals. We've got nothing, Boss." Tony didn't want to admit it, but he was feeling pretty inadequate right about now.

"Where's his sister...Sarah?"

"We've got Sarah here at the Yard. She came here looking for Tim. She'd been getting worried that she hadn't heard from him. She's kinda freaked out."

"Ya think DiNozzo?"

Looking around to see who all was listening to his conversation, Tony lowered his voice, "Gibbs, you don't think...you don't think McGee would have gone and done something stupid do you? I mean, after a couple of days maybe he really freaked out and left town? Do you think he might have sent you an email?"

"Doubt it, he knows I don't read my email. But go ahead and check. I'll wait."

While booting up Gibbs' computer, Tony took the opportunity to snoop. "DiNozzo, get out of my desk." Quietly trying to close the drawer, Tony responded, "Whoa, Boss. Do you ever read your email? Maybe you should spend some time cleaning out your old email Boss."

"DiNozzo! Do you want to spend your next day off cleaning out my email or are you going to go through it now to see if there is something from McGee?"

"Sorry Boss. Nothing from McGee in here. But, uh...Boss? Um, you've got a few recent ones that look a little weird...subject line is "I'm back"

"Open 'em Tony."

"OK, the first one...was sent last Wednesday. It says 'I've been watching Gunny. You're about to lose something.' Boss, is someone after you?"

"Are there more Tony?"

"Yeah, the second one...sent last Thursday. This one says 'I'm going to test your boy Gunny. How well have you trained him?' and there's one more that was sent yesterday. This one says, 'You haven't trained your youngest very well Gunny. Your boy says you don't read email so I've sent you a little package.' Boss, do you know what any of this means?"

Gibbs voice was quiet as he asked "Tony, is there a package?"

"Yeah Boss, must have been delivered this morning when we were out."

"Open it Tony. Tony! Gloves."

Minutes. Not a word was said for minutes as Tony opened the package with trepidation.

"Tony?" "Boss, you may want to try and get Vance to let you come back..."

"DiNozzo! What's in the damn box?" What little patience Gibbs had was now gone.

"Gibbs, McGee's drivers license is in the box along with a bloody jacket. It appears that there is hair, bloody hair as well." Ziva had grabbed a pair of gloves as well to help Tony examine the package.

"Ziva, is there anything else?" Gibbs' gut told him there was more.

"McGee's shoes and socks. And there is a note addressed to you Gibbs."

I'm sure you have forgotten all about me.

But I could never forget you Gunny.

And now your boy won't ever forget me.

"Tell Vance I'm on my way..." the dial tone was all they heard

NCIS~~

Gibbs return to NCIS was delayed by too many phone calls between Vance and Commander Henry. It was wasting time. The heavy rains delayed traffic even more and by the time Gibbs reached the Yard, he was practically growling with frustration. "DiNozzo, where's that package?"

Not having seen Gibbs get off the elevator, Tony and Ziva were both surprised when Gibbs strode into the bullpen. "Abby's got everything, Boss. She's been going through all of it." Gibbs didn't even break stride as he barreled into the stairwell not wanting to take the time to wait for the elevator. Tony and Ziva following in his wake.

"Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs! I missed you! I was so worried when I came in and you weren't here and your desk was too clean and no coffee cup. I thought something happened and then Tony was being all weird and wouldn't answer my questions and ….I'm so glad to see you!" Abby enveloped Gibbs in a huge hug and held on tight.

Not wanting to disappoint Abby but wanting to get on with business, Gibbs returned the hug but quickly asked, "Abs, whatcha got?"

"It's not good Gibbs. The blood and hair, it's all Tims. The only prints on his drivers license are his own. The box has all kinds of prints but it was delivered by courier and then went through our mail system for inspection. And sand, there is sand in the hair and socks and on the bottom of his shoes. Gibbs, there was another note. It was stuck inside one of Tim's shoes."

Gunny—you didn't train your youngest very well.

I'll say he surprised me a time or two but I'm disappointed.

I thought you would have your men up to snuff.

I guess that's why you kicked him off your team?

I don't think there's much more I can teach him, I think he's had enough.

He's not expecting you to find him.

But if you want to look for him, he'll be hanging around for a while.

Check your email once in a while Gunny.

You might get a surprise.

"Damn it…"

"Gibbs! You know how to find McGee right? I mean...you have to find McGee. We're all family and we stick together. You're going to find him, right...Gibbs?" Abby didn't like the look on Gibbs face.

"Boss, any ideas of who this is?"

Looking at Tim's shoes in evidence bags, Gibbs softly replied,"Yeah DiNozzo, I'm pretty sure I know who it is."

"Jeff, we found Tim's car! It's in long term parking at Dulles." Ramsey was behind Harris as he explained how they found the car as they ran into Abby's lab. "Airport security found the car out in the farthest lot backed in against a fence blocking the plate."

"Paul, go, see if there is anything there and have the car towed back here so we can go over it. Bill, I want you…"

"Hold it Blanchard, my agent, my team…"

"I don't think so Gibbs, Tim is assigned to my team now, we'll take care of him. Any information you have on who sent the package will make it that much faster."

Vance finds the two team leaders standing toe to toe as he walks into the forensics lab with their agents backing each man up. "Mind telling me what's going on here?"

"Leon, my team will find McGee"

"You sure you want to do that? Blanchard and his team have a relationship with McGee. When I spoke with McGee he was pretty convinced you didn't want him on your team any longer." Vance stood next to the two men as they stared each other down.

"You have a 'relationship' with my agent Jeff? Movin' a little fast aren't you? Thought his assignment to Blanchard was only temporary, Leon."

"Jethro, you know I'm not the only one that wants McGee on their team, I just showed him how our team works, what that would be like."

"You mean you just got to him before anyone else, is that it?"

"You were pretty adamant about getting him out of your way last week. Your team backed you up by letting him walk away….alone."

Ziva and Tony spoke up loudly but stopped as soon as Gibbs put up his hand. His voice full of remorse, "My fault, not theirs. I let things get out of hand. But that didn't mean I wasn't going to fix it, make it right with McGee." It seemed as though time stood still. The tension in the room was as heavy as the humidity of the storm. .

"Damn it Leon, I know the bastard that has him. He's going to be in bad shape when we find him. I need to be there when we find him." Gibbs didn't wait for Vance to reply.

"Abs, I need you to find Mark Wells. Last I knew he was still in prison."

"Prison? For what?" Tony and Ziva crowded around Abby on one side as she started her search. Blanchard and his team crowded around the other side.

"Murder of a marine." Gibbs watched as Abby's fingers worked the keyboard. It seemed that she wasn't as fast as Tim and he'd had the audacity to yell at Tim for not working fast enough. The irony was not lost as he waited.

"Gibbs, what aren't you telling us?" Vance was wanting some answers.

"Boss, that note….what did all that mean, you not training your youngest?" Tony's voice was full of concern that maybe he had missed something. He, too, was responsible for training his Probie.

NCIS~~

Tim had seen his mother's look of disappointment, he knew what was coming….

"_I can't believe you almost let your sister die. What kind of son are you? How could you let me down like that? How could you let her down like that? You're supposed to take care of her, be the big brother and protect her. But you can't even protect yourself let alone anyone else…._"

"Mom…mom 'm sorry. I'll work harder. I'll take care of Sarah. " promises from a young man that went unheard by those that mattered….

Tim's mother morphed into Gibbs, anger clearly seen on his face. "_Can you tell me how you could be any more stupid McGee? How could you miss all that information…with that big MIT brain of yours? Or maybe that's just as much of a joke as you being a field agent. You can't even keep yourself out of poison ivy for God's sake. How are you going to solve a case or protect a witness. I can't believe you let Erin be killed right in front of you. You can't protect yourself or anyone else."_

"Boss….please…I'll work harder…I can do better" whispered words that were never heard.

The image of Gibbs morphed into Wells walking around and around, yelling and kicking. _"I've never known a Marine to leave a man behind but there's always a first time and looks like it's you. I can see why Gibbs didn't bother looking for you. You can't even learn the basic techniques. Look at you, you weren't even able to protect yourself from one old man. You can't protect yourself or anyone else…_

"just end this now"….words from a wounded man delirious from pain that were muted out by the storm that continued to build.


End file.
